


Fictober 2018

by Jarl_Deathwolf



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Aged Up, Christmas, F/M, Fictober, Massage
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-21
Updated: 2019-04-08
Packaged: 2019-08-26 22:52:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 31
Words: 25,068
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16690456
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jarl_Deathwolf/pseuds/Jarl_Deathwolf
Summary: Ahh, I've missed writing short chapters and responding to prompts. No real unifying theme here, except most of these will be fluffy, with some angst thrown in from time to time. Even I'm not sure about most of where I'll take most of these prompts, so be sure to check in and see what I've done! I'll put relationship tags in the chapter summaries to help frame each drabble, and the chapter name will be the prompt.Enjoy these very, very late fictober prompts!





	1. "Can You Feel This"

**Author's Note:**

> Post-reveal Ladrien comfort.

“Can you feel this?” He asked, seated behind her as he gently squeezed along her suit-covered arm. 

Laughing, she replied, “Of course I can, Adrien. It’s armor, yeah, but it is skin-tight armor.”

“So if I were to do _this_ ,” he said as he began rubbing circles into her back with his hands, “...You’d be able to feel it?”

Her only response was a satisfied groaning. “So, do you want to talk about why you’re so tense, bugaboo?”

Even if he wasn’t feeling the tension under his fingers, he would have known something was off. Both of them were _supposed_ to be pretty busy this late in the semester, and he knew that Marinette had a few designs sitting half-finished in her apartment. Something had to be bothering her if she was preempting their date on the weekend for one of these midnight meetings. A nostalgic smile brightened his face. The last time they’d done this was back in lycee, just after their identity reveal, when the excitement made it impossible for them to be apart for long.

As she arched her back against his hands, he swallowed heavily. He hadn’t realized how much he had missed these late night escapades.

“It’s just… it all feels overwhelming, you know? Back in lycee, it was hard, sure, but it was manageable. But now? Holding down a job and doing university work, while knowing I might at any time have to bail on it because of an akuma attack.” She huffed. “Do you know how many times your father has chewed me out for missing a meeting? He’s one to talk - I don’t think he’s ever been physically present for _any_ of them. The other interns tell me he sometimes doesn’t even show up on the screen sometimes.”

“Yeah, that’s dear old dad alright. When he does it, it’s justified, but if you do it? Absolutely horrible. Once, my father got all up in arms about how I absolutely needed to go to a birthday party for some big wig or another, right? Well, turns out while I was there, _he_ had blown it off to go play golf.”

“No offense, but he’s the _worst_.”

“I’m right there with you, my lady.” He subtly let his hands drift lower as he continued to talk. “Back to the feeling of being overwhelmed. You know, we have friends we can rely on. There are five miraculous bearers now. We don’t have to stand alone anymore.”

She half turned and leaned back against him, resting her head against his chest. He wrapped his arms around her, his roving hands still for the moment and planted a kiss on the crown of her head.. 

“It’s still so hard.”

He chuckled into her hair. “No one said it would be easy.”

“The stress just keeps building up. The tension feels like I’m being pulled in three directions at once.”

A smirk that he knew she couldn’t see slipped onto his face. “Well, maybe we should make some time to get rid of some of that stress.” His hands returned to the roaming, with specific intent in mind.

Turning over to look up at him, matching his smirk with her own. “You alley cat. Taking advantage in my distressed state.”

“I live only to serve my lady, in _any_ capacity she needs me to.”

“I see.” She shifted in place to properly sit in his lap and snared his lips with her own. In one of the heated moments when they split apart for air, she gasped out, “Spots off.”

Adrien was vaguely aware of Tikki unerringly floating off towards Plagg’s hiding spot. His attention was primarily focused on the lingerie his girlfriend was wearing.

“What? Did you think you were being sly?”

“I was hoping I’d managed to seduce you out of the blue,” he grumbled.

She rested her forehead against his and giggled. “Silly kitty.”


	2. People Like You Have No Imagination

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ladynoir

“People like you have no imagination!” Chat grumbled while crossing his arms.

“It’s a ridiculous plan! How do you even think we’ll get even half of these things?!” 

Alya did not have as much patience as Ladybug did for their feline partner’s antics. While she and Chat Noir generally got along, there were times when he got weirdly insistent on a certain course of action. Almost every time, it involved Ladybug in some way. Probably not surprising, since the cat was clearly head over heels for their spotted leader and it was definitely funny up until he dragged the other members of the team into it.

“That’s where the imagination comes into play. Besides,” he added, “I have my means.”

Completely unwillingly, Alya added this clue to Chat’s identity to the back of her mind. Suit or no suit, she was still a reporter at heart and this was another indicator that Chat came from money.

“You know as well as I do that Ladybug doesn’t like being the center of attention any more than she needs to be. Throwing a lavish party for her will just make her uncomfortable.” She frowned as Chat deflated, sitting down on the edge of the building they were standing on. Her irritation with him evaporated in the face of him looking like a kicked kitten. With a sigh, she asked, “How do you even know her birthday anyway? She doesn’t like giving her personal details out like that.”

He smirked. “It isn’t _really_ her birthday. I think. We just agreed to swap random dates in our birth month and treat it like our birthdays. And even that only happened because I kept bothering her for it.”

Sitting down next to him, she let the silence stretch between them. After a few minutes of staring out at the unfamiliar portion of their city - Chat wanted to be avoid their usual areas to prevent Ladybug from dropping in on them - she spoke.

“No way we can pull off what you were planning.” His ears drooped. “...but what about a little surprise party? I’m sure Carapace would be willing to set up some music.” It wouldn’t be hard to convince him. Nino had always felt like he owed Ladybug for choosing him to be a miraculous bearer. 

Immediately, he was bubbling with energy again, tail swinging high in excitement. “I can cover the cake!”

“Which leaves me to set up the decorations at where ever the place is..” She stood up. “This ‘patrol’ has been fun, cat man, but I need to get to bed. See you later.”

\--------------------------------------------

Adrien was well aware of how bad he was cooking. But he also didn’t want to simply do a store bought cake nor did he want to entrust what was supposed to be a labor of love with his personal cook. Without many other choices, he had to rely on outside assistance to help him. And who would be better than the amazingly talented and dependable Marinette Dupain-Cheng?

All in all, the process hadn’t taken that long - but it got stretched out a couple hours longer than it should have. Not that he minded, of course! He _had_ stopped by unannounced. But he was out of options, and he figured that even if Marinette couldn’t help him, he could always swallow his pride and purchase something from her parents’ bakery. Fortunately, she was able to help him after she finished her sewing. Her eyes had widened at his request for a Ladybug-themed cake, but she threw herself into making it with all the gusto that he’d heard about. They even had the opportunity to play a few rounds of Mecha Strike while waiting on the it to finish baking. 

He winced as he remembered how stiff and awkward she was when he had hugged her in appreciation for helping him. _Did I overstep my boundaries? Hopefully she doesn’t go back to hating me because of this._

His worries about his fledgling friendship with Marinette had to be pushed aside as he reached the meeting point. Carapace and Rena Rouge were already there, both freezing when they heard the door opening but relaxing once they saw it was him, their eyes immediately drawn to the box he was carrying. 

Grinning, he opened it to show it off to them. “Beautiful, isn’t it? My friend and I spent most of the afternoon working on it.”

“She’ll love it, I just know it.” Rena winked. “Much better than all that nonsense you were trying to convince me to do. Nice work.” 

Adrien pouted. “No offense to Carapace, but I still think a live band would’ve really livened the place up. Plus, Ladybug deserves all the rose bouquets I can afford. And-”

Carapace held up a hand, shushing Adrien. He tilted his shield to show it’s interior, where a tracker on Ladybug’s position was revealed. “She’s almost hear du-, I mean Chat.”

“Places everyone!” 

Suiting actions to words, Adrien darted behind some cover, closest to the door. The warehouse was kinda lacking in that regard, but they managed to make it work. After a couple minutes of waiting, the door creaked open and a familiar silhouette appeared. She paused uncertainly at the entrance.

“Hello…?”

They turned on the lights and shouted (roughly) at the same time, “Surprise!”

Or at least, that had been the plan. Instead - and Adrien wasn’t quite sure of all the details - Adrien ended up pinned to the floor with his arm twisted behind his back and Ladybug on top of him. It didn’t take long for her to realize her mistake.

“Chat!” She got up off of him. “I’m sorry, but you really should know better than to surprise me like that.” 

Shooting a meaningful look at a smug Rena Rouge, Adrien replied, “Yeah, maybe. Anyway! Happy birthday, my lady.” He kissed her hand. “We’ve got music, and friends, and, of course, cake.”

She tilted her head to the side curiously at that last word. “...Really? Can I, uh, can I see it?”

Chuckling to himself, he said, “Sure! It’s over here.”

He wasn’t sure what she saw in that cake, but after a few minutes of staring where she stood stock still and wide eyed, she eventually turned to face him.

“Can I talk with you…” She glanced over at their two teammates, “...Chat?” 

“Oookay. Sure.”

Once they were beyond the reach of listening ears, Ladybug began pacing in front of him. “Out of all the bakeries in Paris, you chose the Dupain-Chengs.”

Adrien shuffled in place. He got the feeling she disproved, which irritated him. After all, who didn’t like the Dupain-Chengs, Marinette especially. “They _are_ the best, my lady.” His eyes widened in realization. “Wait. How did you know where it came from? The box doesn’t have any markings, I made sure of that.”

For one of the first times since their very first akuma, Ladybug actually looked nervous and struggled to meet his eyes. “Well, I… I, uh, helped you… make the cake.”

His face screwed up in disbelief. “No, it was just me and…” He trailed off and everything clicked. It was as if a fog lifted, letting him see his lady in an all new light. Stepping forward as she took a nervous step back, he brushed an errant strand of hair out of her face. “...Marinette.”

“H-hey, Adrien.” She smiled anxiously. 

Returning her smile with a more confident one, he rested his forehead against hers. He could hear her breath hitch as he leaned in.

“Happy birthday, Marinette,” he said just before their lips met.


	3. How Can I Trust You?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Post-reveal Adrienette

“How can I trust you?” She said through her tears, ending her ten minute rant against him. “After this… this _betrayal_?”

Adrien sighed as concern and amusement warred within him. Her crying always sent a spear of pain through his heart, so these last few months had been… trying for him. He knew she couldn’t help it, and all that he could do was be as supportive as possible. 

“I’m sorry, bugaboo.” He stepped forward to place a hand on her flushed face, wiping away the tears. “Do you want me to make you some more?”

As much as her crying worried him, there was something almost funny about calling him eating the last of the potato soup a ‘betrayal.’ He hadn’t even realized she was saving it. All he had known was he got home from work and there was delicious, delicious leftovers. Half an hour later and his beloved wife had him pinned in a corner, yelling at him. It seemed that she understood that it was an overreaction, as she looked away glumly. She nodded and Adrien got to work making a fresh batch. 

As the soup was nearing completion, Marinette grumbled, “I’m sorry I lashed out at you like that.”

“Its okay, lovebug. You’re going through a lot of changes right now, and it’s rough. I get it.”

“I hate it! I just start crying _for no goddamn reason_.” As if to accentuate her point, she sniffled. “You aren’t even out of your work clothes yet. And you’re making me more potato soup.”

He tapped his stirring spoon against the side of the pot and set it down. Crouching in front of her, he looked up into her eyes and smiled. He put a hand on her enlarged belly and could almost feel their child growing just below the surface.

“Well, any day now, it’ll be done and we can hold our baby in our arms. It’ll all be worth it.” He kissed her forehead as he rose. “And if making potato soup at ten in the evening is what it takes to get there, then I’m not complaining.”

He returned to stirring and heard the chair squeak as she pushed it away. She wrapped him in a hug from behind, and could feel his shirt get wet from where her face was buried in it. 

“I love you so much, kitty.”

“I love you too, Mari.”


	4. Will That Be All?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien & Gabriel

Adrien cut into his father’s diatribe. “Will that be all?”

It was a dangerous game to cut Gabriel Agreste off like that, but he simply couldn’t muster the energy to care about that. He simply felt hollow inside, and wanted to be as far from his father as possible at the moment. It seemed that some of this bitterness must have leaked through, as the older man finally raised his eyes off his designs to take a long look at his son. The anger in his face had given way to a completely impassive stare. Not even Adrien, who had known the man all of his sixteen years, could read the expression. 

“Yes… I suppose that will be all.”

“Very well. I will be in my room then.”

“Be sure to-” The remainder of his father’s words were lost to him as he slammed the door shut behind him and ran to his bedroom. Only once his own door had been shut and locked did he allow himself the luxury of crying.

In hindsight, he really shouldn’t have expected anything else. He had just been too excited to think clearly. He never would have thought his father would have disapproved.

“Are you going to be okay, kid?” Plagg floated in front of his face and placed a paw on his cheek. There was worry in his eyes, Adrien could tell.

Forcing himself to calm down with an effort of will, he wiped away the tears with the back of his hand. “Yeah, I’ll be fine. I don’t know how I’ll tell Marinette, though.”

“Tell her what?” Plagg said with a hint of caution in his voice. Which was reasonable. For the longest time, Adrien would obey his father’s commands regardless of his own happiness. So it was very possible for him to yield to this order too. 

“That my father doesn’t approve of us being together. I’m not about to actually break up with her, Plagg. I’ve wanted to be with her for too long for anyone to keep us apart. Besides,” he settled on the couch, “this just proves that my father doesn’t really care about me. Just what I can do for him.”

“Adrien…”

“He wanted me to break up with Marinette because it would be better for my modeling career if I were single, Plagg. Who the hell does that?”

His kwami didn’t have an answer for that. “So what are we going to do now?”

“I need to see her. Are you charged up?”

Letting out a put upon sigh, he said, “Yeah, yeah. Let’s go, I gotta talk to Tikki about this. She’s pretty good about these things.”

“Plagg, claws out!”


	5. Take What You Need

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chat Noir & Tom Dupain

Tom held up a hand to cut off the protests that were sure to have been coming, “Take what you need, son.”

Eyes flickering between him and the plate of croissants, Chat Noir tentatively reached out a hand for the baked goods. In no time at all, he was eating his fill and Tom could allow some of the worry to bleed out from him. The whole scene had been upsetting, though probably not for the reasons that Chat Noir might have thought so. 

The akuma victim of the day had targeted the Dupain-Cheng bakery - thankfully while Marinette was out with friends. Tom was still uncertain about what exactly had happened, but an aggravated customer had gone off the rails, stormed out, and mere minutes later was attacking the bakery. Thankfully, the guardians of Paris had been swift on his heels. In the ensuing fight, the villain had escaped. 

Tom had expected both of the heroes to chase after him, but Ladybug seemed very worried that he would return while they were gone. After a brief discussion, Ladybug left, leaving Chat Noir to guard the bakery in her absence, though neither of them seemed particularly pleased about it. 

Which is about when Tom started noticing some things about Chat Noir.

There was all the time he spent staring at the family pictures. At first, Tom had thought he was eyeing Marinette, but then he realized it was a look of sad longing. _Did this boy have a rough home life?_ The thought suddenly made him aware of just how _young_ Chat Noir was. He couldn’t be any older than Marinette, for Heaven’s sake! And yet, here he was, putting his life on the line to protect others. All the while there might only be a cold and empty home for him to go back to. If his absence was even noticed at all. 

So when the hero’s stomach growled loudly, Tom might have overreacted a bit. But it helped to ease his conscious just a little bit. Soon enough, Chat Noir was back to his usual boisterous self. Tom couldn’t control how he was treated at home, but at least he could make the hero feel loved and welcomed here.


	6. I Heard Enough, This Ends Here

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien & Gabriel

“I know it’s hard to hear, son.”

Adrien backed away from the sarcophagus, fear etched into his face. Looking past his own horrified expression reflected on the glass, he saw another face. That of his mother looking exactly as she did the day he last saw her, over two years ago. 

“Emilie is alive… but just barely.”

He felt his father’s presence next to him. There was no comforting hand on the shoulder. No physical contact at all, not even empty, soothing words. Instead, he saw his father’s face reflected beside his own in the glass, staring forward with awe and a tint of sadness.

“She can live again… be with us again… but I need your help, son.”

Despite his apprehension, he felt a morbid curiosity rise up inside him. Questions struggled to make themselves be heard. What was his father talking about? What happened to mom to be stuck like this? Did his father have anything to with it? But he only managed to vocalize one of this questions:

“How?” Adrien croaked out, desperate for some insight into this madman that may have once been his father. 

If he noticed Adrien’s distress, he didn’t show it. He faced his son, crouched down to his level. “I’ve learned of a method to return her to life, but I lack the required components. Ladybug and Chat Noir’s miraculous - together they can grant a wish capable of anything…” He turned to face the sarcophagus again, “...anything at all.”

A pit opened up in Adrien’s stomach. Horrible realization dawned as Gabriel Agreste continued.

“She could have been with us years ago, but those false heroes have done their best to keep our family apart. They’ve made what should have been the work of a day into a grueling war of years. Paris has suffered for it. _We_ have suffered for it. But the time has come for the battle to end in our favor.”

“...You’re Hawkmoth.” There was very carefully no emotion behind Adrien’s words. He didn’t want to play his hand just yet.

“Yes, my son. And the time has come for you to join me.” Adrien’s heart skipped a beat. _Did he discover who I am?_ But no, he was reaching for a box behind him.

An all-too-familiar box, much like the one his ring had arrived in. Gabriel presented it to him, and opened it to reveal a blue and purple broach styled like a peacock’s feathers. 

“Join me. We can end this senseless conflict and become a family again.”

Adrien shook his head, walking backwards as the tears began to flow. He locked eyes with his father, pouring as much defiance as he could manage into his stare. 

“I’ve heard enough. This ends now. Plagg, claws out!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gotta balance out the good parenting from last chapter with some Gabriel parenting now.


	7. No Worries, We Still Have Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrienette, with a dash of Ladrien

Once he finished putting on his tie, Adrien placed his hands on her shoulders and whispered, “No worries, we still have time.”

“I know but…” 

She trailed off, but Adrien knew what she meant. The last three double dates with Alya and Nino they had planned had all fallen through. It wasn’t their fault, really, and it wasn’t like they enjoyed like canceling last minute. But when Paris needed to be saved, they didn’t have much choice in the matter. Despite their years long fight, they were still no closer to capturing Hawkmoth or his miraculous.

Marinette paced in irritation, with Adrien keeping a cautious eye on the trailing bits of her dress. While he certainly loved her, he knew only all too well how clumsy she could be - especially when she wasn’t paying attention. 

“Our excuses were so lame! They must think-”

“...That we have busy lives and they understand because they love us,” Adrien finished, pulling her into a hug as he pressed a kiss onto her forehead. “It’ll be fine, bugaboo. We will make it this time.”

Pulling away reluctantly, she put the finishing touches to her hair. “I hope you’re right, kitty.”

\-------------------------------

“Bye-bye little butterfly!”

She didn’t bother tracking the butterfly’s path into the sky as usual, having no time to spare with reflecting on a job well done. Instead, she whipped her head over to look at her fiance, whose face was painted green by the glow of his baton’s screen. Grimacing, he looked up at her.

“We have five minutes to get across town.”

“That’s too far for us to make it there by car…” She touched her chin in thought as Chat’s miraculous beeped more insistently.

He slumped his shoulders. “I’m sorry, my lady. I suppose we’ll have to cancel.”

“No,” she said with a mischievous smile, “we can make it. Follow me!” She navigated the darkened alleys of nighttime Paris, certain that he was following close behind. Once they were away from prying eyes, she stopped. She turned around just in time to see a flash of green and hear Plagg’s complaints. 

“Now whaaaHH!” Before he could get a word out, she had swept him off his feet and was swinging across the city. All he could do was wrap his arms around her and hold on for dear life.

True to her word, they made it. Nino and Alya chose not to comment on Adrien’s new windswept look.


	8. I Know You Do

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angsty Ladrien

“Ladybug! What are you doing here?” 

Adrien stood up from his desk, a genuine smile dawning on his face as he took a few eager steps forward. It wasn’t usually the time that she would show up to hang out, but he certainly wasn’t complaining. Especially not after the day he had. 

His smile faltered slightly when he remembered the akuma of the day. The villain of the day had been particularly rough, a crazed fan who had wanted to keep Adrien all to herself. In the course of the fight, it became clear what was going on between him and Ladybug. It wasn’t how he had expected their relationship to be announced to the world, but it is what it is. Ladybug hadn’t been very happy with him as Chat when he finally appeared, but he also knew she wouldn’t want him to reveal his identity. All he could do was do his best to bear the brunt of her worry and frustration.

As he approached her, his eyes adjusted to the shadow and he realized that it was neither worry nor frustration that he was seeing written on her face right now. 

It was heartbreak. She was doing her best to put up a strong face, but he’d gotten good at seeing past that over the last couple years.

He placed a hand on her cheek. “Hey… what’s wrong?”

“You could’ve gotten really hurt today, Adrien.” Her bluebell eyes were staring up at him and there was a steely determination there that made him uneasy. It was a look she wore whenever she was about to do something that she knew needed to be done, regardless of what she or anyone else thought about it.

“But I didn’t! I’m completely fine.”

“You almost weren’t!” Her sudden shout shook him and he was unable to reply. Taking a moment to compose herself, she took a step back, brushing his hand off her cheek. More quietly, she continued, “She almost won, and then you and all the rest of Paris would be under Hawkmoth’s rule.”

“I know you’ll always be there to protect me.”

“And I will. But right now, I’m causing you more danger than I’m shielding you from. Today, it was just a loony fan. But now we know that Hawkmoth knows about us. He’s going to be targeting you more and more now to get to me.”

A pit opened up in his stomach. “What are you-”

“I’m sorry, Adrien. I really am. But… I can’t be with you. It’s too dangerous.” She took her yo-yo in hand and stepped outside his window, a moment away from abandoning him.

“Please! Ladybug, I love you!”

Looking over her shoulder, the wind was knocked out of him at the tears running down her face. “I know you do.”

She vanished into the night.


	9. You Shouldn't Have Come Here

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marichat

“You shouldn’t have come here.”

Marinette spun around in place, looking for the source of the familiar voice, but all she saw was the water-logged alleyway that she was using as a shortcut to her house. Normally, she preferred to take the scenic route when going home, but even with her favorite black umbrella she didn’t want to be out in the rain any longer than she needed to be.

A shadow detached itself from above and landed gracefully in front of her, confirming her suspicions. Chat Noir smiled like the cheshire cat and bowed to her. The surprisingly elegant effect was ruined when he sneezed. 

“Chat Noir! What’re you doing out so late? And why don’t you have an umbrella?” Worried for him, she rushed forward to bring him under the cover of hers. 

“I could ask the same of you, princess. Well, at least about being out so late. It’s dangerous! You never know what sort of shady characters you’ll meet.” He flexed his claws and did his best to look threatening, but she could only smile. Chat Noir didn’t scare her. Very much the opposite - he made her feel safer, whether or not she was wearing the spots. 

“I had a group project that I was finishing. _I_ was heading straight home.”

“Well, I was heading straight away from home.” Under his breath he muttered, “Not my fault I don’t have anywhere else to go.”

Her heart broke. She knew from the offhanded comments he’d let slip every now and again during patrol that he didn’t have a great home life, but what could have happened that he felt he couldn’t be home? Some of her worry must have shown on her face since he smiled and stood straighter.

“I’ll be okay. I just… I can’t be at my house right now. You really don’t need to worry about me.”

His attempt to dissuade her only strengthened her conviction. She knew her kitty well enough that the more he assured her not to worry about him, the more she ought to. 

“Chat, would you like to hang out with me for a while? I’d bet it’d be more comfortable than standing out in the rain, scaring girls minding their own business.”

He grinned. “You think I’m intimidating?”

Grabbing his cheeks in one hand, she cooed, “Of course, aren’t you just the scariest kitty that there ever was?” She laughed at his pouting. “Sorry Chat. How about some hot chocolate to make up for it?”

His tail began to sweep back and forth, low to the ground. “I’d love some. Meet you there?”

At her nod, he rushed off. After a moment’s consideration, she closed her umbrella she had gotten from Adrien and ran home herself. She needed to get ready for his arrival.

\-------------------------------------------------

Half an hour later and Marinette had changed into her pajamas. Two mugs of hot chocolate with marshmallows were sitting on the desk, steam gently rising into the cool air. As she was taking the ties out of her hair, she heard a soft knock on her skylight. She opened it slightly and Chat Noir squeezed into her room, jumping down to the floor to avoid getting her bed wet.

When she climbed down to meet him, she was surprised at how shy her famously outgoing partner was being.

“Sorry if I’m imposing on you or anything.”

“I _invited_ you, Chat. It’s no trouble at all.” She cut him off as he attempted to say something else, which she knew would be self-depreciating. “Your hot chocolate is on the desk. I’ll be right back.”

Upon her return, she saw Chat sitting on the chaise, huddled over his hot chocolate, eyes squeezed shut. Creeping behind him, she threw the towel she had brought back over his head.

“Hey!" He cried out indignantly. "What’re you-” 

The rest of his sentence got muffled as she vigorously dried his hair and head. Sure, he could probably have done it himself, but it was more fun this way and at least it drew him back out of whatever funk he was letting himself settle into.

She took a seat in her swivel chair in front of him, where she could properly appreciate the absolute mess she’d made of his hair. While he attempted to style his hair, she took her first few sips of hot chocolate. Biting down on her lips, she silently endured his half-hearted glare. Before long, both of them were giggling. Chat took the towel and began drying the rest of himself off. She took the opportunity to get the conversation started. 

“So, kitty,” she began, “it isn’t normal for you to do the whole brooding in the rain thing. You want to talk about it?”

“I…” He looked conflicted as he trailed off. Taking a deep, weary breath, he started again. “No. I can’t get into it. I just had a fight with my father is all and suddenly, my house felt very cold and empty. Well, more so than usual.”

“So you ran out into the autumn rain?”

“Well, I might have still been cold, but at least it wasn’t empty.” He shivered and got a firmer grip on his mug. “But yeah, maybe not my best idea.”

After a moment of consideration, she scrambled up the stairs to her bed and grabbed her fluffiest blanket. Taking a seat beside him, she wrapped the blanket around both of them. This close, she could smell the rain on him. He must have been outside for quite a while before he found her. 

Hesitantly, he wrapped an arm around her. When she didn’t resist, he pulled her close. They sat like that for a few minutes, sharing heat, before Chat spoke.

“Marinette?”

“Hm?”

“Thank you.”


	10. You Think This Troubles Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Marinette sees Chat Noir swing past her window so late in the night, she knows there is something wrong and goes out to seek her best friend.

She had seen him out of the corner of her eye while she was sewing. With her attention fixed somewhere else, she hadn’t get a good look at him and with the darkness of the night it very well could have been someone or something else sailing past her window. Still… she knew in her gut that her partner was out in the city tonight. Staring outside, she tried to decide if it was something she needed to worry about. After all, loads of people were out and about at… Marinette winced as she read the time on her phone. Two in the morning. Something was definitely wrong, and she needed to find her partner.

Despite his excellent camouflage for a city at night, it didn’t take her long to find him. Although they had the whole city open to them, they tended to stick to their usual routes and stomping grounds. It was just a matter of guessing which ones Chat Noir would take the most comfort in.

Chat Noir was sitting on a rooftop, one leg hanging over the edge and looking down with a melancholy smile at an empty street. Despite looking like most other streets in Paris, she recognized it well even, smiling herself. It was hard to forget the place where she and Chat Noir had first run into each other - literally. 

Taking a seat next to him startled him - he must not have heard her approach. “Hey, Chat. Mind if I sit with you?”

“Ladybug! Y-yeah, go ahead.” The real emotion left his face, to be replaced by a pleasant mask. If she wasn’t worried before, she was now. Normally he was far more upfront with his feelings.

She knew it was usually best for him to open up on his own. If he didn’t, then she could start gently prodding, but for now, they each simply enjoyed each other’s company in relative silence. After a few minutes of this, Marinette decided that drastic action had to be taken. She began humming a tune that had been stuck in her head for a while. Soon after, Chat Noir took up the song as well and they had an impromptu duet. 

“Thanks, Ladybug,” he said drily, “I had nearly forgotten that song and now it’s back with a vengeance.”

“Oh?” She replied as innocently as she could. “Well, maybe we should talk to get your mind off of it then. Maybe about what’s bothering you?” 

He turned to her with that smile that was just a bit too wide to be real. “You think this bothers me? It’s just the same old thing. Today it might have hit… harder… than usually, but I’ll be fine, I promise.”

“Chat…”

“Seriously. We were all just under a lot of pressure. It’s perfectly understandable why he’d snap like that.”

Marinette said nothing. She knew that the dam was breaking.

“I mean, yeah, it wasn’t my fault that everything had to be redone. But he could hardly have a meltdown in public, right?” He ran a hand through his hair. “So, in that regard, it’s pretty amazing that he held it all in until we got home.”

She took his free hand in hers, watching his face carefully. He didn’t seem to notice the gesture - at least, not yet.

“It… it could’ve been worse. He could’ve pulled me out of school again. He… he could have kept me away from my friends. A tongue lashing is pretty tame in comparison. I can’t really complain. Right?” His voice cracked with the last word and he looked at her with so much desperate intensity it made her heart break. 

Finally, he seemed to notice she was holding his hand and that was what tipped him over the edge. She pulled him into a hug as he started tearing up. As he began sobbing in her arms, she reflected that Tikki was probably right in keeping their identities secret. Otherwise, she might have had words of her own with Chat Noir’s father.


	11. But I Will Never Forget!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette attempts to have dinner with her father-in-law, Gabriel Agreste.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'I will never forget'! Very fitting chapter to return on, lol. Sorry about the month long wait - both my beta and I have been busy, but now I have a backlog of finished prompts so I can get back to posting fairly consistently again. Enjoy!

“Could you pass the salt, Adrien?”

It was one of the first things she’d said for the entire evening, a jarring difference from the sounds of utensils clinking against plates that had dominated the dinner at Adrien’s house. From what she could tell, he had this idea of wanting to do things in the most stereotypically romantic way possible. Many of these things were honestly pretty sweet. Christmas at her parents. Moonlight dinners at the Eiffel Tower. Love confessions in the rain. The problem came, as it always did, with Gabriel Agreste. 

“Sure, Mari! Here you go.”

Maybe it was because their engagement had come from out of nowhere - at least from his perspective. Marinette allowed herself a small smile as she remembered that night when they revealed each other’s identities and everything seemed to clicked into place. How Chat - how _Adrien_ \- had immediately gotten down on one knee and offered the only ring he had on him as an engagement ring, much to Plagg’s annoyance. She accepted, of course. They’d already wasted six years chasing after each other and she didn’t want to waste another moment. 

“Thanks, sweetie.”

Everything else hadn’t seemed that important, honestly. It was only after a few days that they realized they probably ought to share the good news with friends and family. Everyone took the announcement with some mix of emotions that could be summarized with ‘finally!’, ‘I knew there was something there!’, or, from some classmates she hadn’t seen in years, ‘I thought they were already married?’ In short, everyone took the news joyously…

...Except for Gabriel Agreste.

She realized he was a cold person, if only because that was always the phrasing that Adrien would use to describe him. Despite all Gabriel had done since their announcement - from criticising their choices in the planning of their wedding all the way up to subtly trying to convince Adrien to either postpone or call off the engagement - Adrien was still doing his best to connect with his father, refusing to see him for what he was. In spite of what her husband-to-be often said, Gabriel wasn’t simply a cold person. He was controlling and belittling, probably seeing the wedding as Adrien slipping from his grasp. 

“I must return to my designs. Have a pleasant evening.” Gabriel rose from his seat and left the dining room. 

“I don’t think that went too-” Adrien noticed that she was just as abruptly getting up. “Mari? Where are you going?”

“I just want to have a word with your father.” When she was first getting to know Adrien, his usage of ‘father’ always bothered her. It seemed too formal a word for someone that was meant to be so close to a person. But she quickly learned that Gabriel kept even his own son at arm’s length. 

“Okay… just, please don’t provoke him, alright? I think we’re finally starting to get on his good side.” 

“Don’t worry, I won’t.” She flashed her best smile as she lied through her teeth. Adrien could talk about the high road and not provoking people all he wants. Sometimes, you needed to stand up to bullies, even if they are your soon to be father-in-law.

She didn’t bother knocking on the door to his office. Pleasantries were the last thing on her mind at this moment. 

Gabriel had the audacity to raise an eyebrow at her intrusion. “I trust you have a reason for-”

It should be noted that the Agreste men, for all their differences, shared several physical traits. One of them was being rather on the tall side. This was a mixed blessing for her when it came to her fiance, for a number of reasons. When it came to Gabriel, however, it just meant that when she wanted to talk to him eye to eye, she had to pull on his conveniently placed, ugly as all hell, candy cane tie. 

“You listen to me, Gabriel. No matter what snide things you have to say in the matter, Adrien and I love each other very much and we _are_ going to get married. He has been trying his _damnedest_ to bring you into his life. We have tried to reach out to you and you’ve done nothing but scorn or ignore us. Adrien may be willing to forget everything you’ve put him through...”

She leaned forward to whisper harshly into his ear. “ _But I will never forget_. I won’t forget how many times I’ve had to hold him as he cried into my shoulder about your latest abuse. I won’t forget each day he’d have to cancel long standing plans due to _conveniently timed_ last minute photoshoots. I won’t forget how he lived each day in school knowing that the threat of being pulled out and tossed back into homeschooling loomed over him. If you think you can get away with treating him so poorly anymore, then think again.”

She let go of him and he immediately pulled back and straightened out his tie. “Last chance, Gabriel. And I’m only offering it because for whatever reason, he cares for you. If you blow it, Adrien will be out of your life forever.”

Back in the car, Adrien began driving out of his childhood home. “Did you have a nice chat?”

“Yes. I think we understand each other a bit better now.”


	12. Who Could Do This

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Domestic Adrienette for the soul

“Who could do this?” Marinette yelled over her shoulder while reading through the numbers for various plumbers in Paris.

“Do what?” Adrien’s voice carried from the kitchen over the sound of running water. 

“Fix the sink, silly kitt- wait.” _Running water? He didn’t..._ Her voice took on a chastising edge that she had come to use more and more frequently after they had moved into the house they had bought together. “What are you doing?”

“I’m taking care of the problem! It can’t be that- ack!” She entered the room just as the plumbing hiccuped and doused him in a gout of water. He pouted at her when she started giggling. “Hey, I’m doing my best here.”

Still laughing, she planted a kiss on his damp cheek. “I know you are, kitty, but you don’t need to do everything. It’s okay to ask for help.” 

It had taken a couple years to convince her new father-in-law to let Adrien move in with her and that was just into an apartment. A smile graced her face as she remembered him struggling to do the day to day tasks of living on your own that she had taken for granted. For all his education on foreign languages and fencing and piano, he couldn’t cook, couldn’t do laundry, and only knew the basics of cleaning. But he had tried so hard, and was so eager to learn it was hard to be mad at him for asking so many questions or for messing up so often. Just like now, he had tried his best. 

But doing this kind of maintenance on a house was another beast entirely and even Marinette didn’t know how to fix some of the problems that had come up in their new home. Yet his can-do attitude hadn’t diminished one bit. His eagerness was as cute now as it was then, but she knew that if he kept tinkering with it like this it would end up even more broken than before, which would cost more. And she wanted to avoid asking Gabriel for financial help if she could avoid it - somehow, asking him of all people for help felt like it would be an admission of defeat.

Marinette sighed. No wonder Adrien had been so eager to get away from the man. 

“But… if I can’t do this, then what am I even bringing to this relationship?” He was staring at the ground, his earlier excitement fully evaporated. “I’m no good at domestic stuff and all I’m really good for is modeling. That’s all father _really_ taught me.”

She put a hand on a cheek and pulled his face towards her, staring up into those emerald orbs for just a few moments before she responded.

“You’re Adrien Agreste, love of my life, the best partner I could have ever asked for, and my adoring husband. That’s all I’ve ever wanted from you, kitty.” He gave a faltering smile and she rolled forward on her toes to give him a proper kiss, ignoring that she was making her shirt wet now as well. “Now come on and help me find a good plumber, okay?” She pulled him back toward the computer.

Grinning as though starstruck, he replied dreamily, “Whatever you wish, my lady.”


	13. Try Harder Next Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Post-Reveal Adrienette

The ride back to her place was quiet, if only because Adrien wanted to be certain that he didn’t continue to embarrass himself. Just as he tried to muster up the nerve to apologize to her, the light of a street lamp illuminated her. His jacket was too large for her, but at least it was warmer than the dress she was wearing. _The dress that I ruined_ , he thought to himself with a wince. It had been very pretty and he just _knew_ that she had made it by hand and now it was a mess all because of him and-

“Marinette, I’m so sorry for tonight.”

Her bluebell eyes widened with surprise as she raised her face from the collar of the jacket. She opened the jacket enough to look down at the dress and he caught a glimpse of a wonderful piece with a giant red stain from neckline to navel. He hadn’t meant to stumble with the drinks, but it had been a fitting end to a night plagued with disaster.

“Kitty, it’s alright. I can get this stain out no problem.”

Kitty. He had almost forgotten about the reveal, with everything that had happened that night. They had been so awkward, but when Adrien had proposed they go on a date, she surprised him by accepting this time. The mystery person he had been fighting for the affections of his lady had turned out to be… himself. Which was both heartwarming and deeply frustrating, but still didn’t hold a candle to the realization that he didn’t _just_ make a fool out of himself in front of Marinette, the most talented and caring person he knew. He was _also_ an idiot in front of Ladybug, the most badass and confident person he had ever met. 

The night couldn’t get much worse and Adrien groaned as he put his head in his hands.

“Listen, I know tonight was rough.” A muffled grunt from Adrien. “But it wasn’t… _that_ bad. I mean, sure, a lot went wrong…”

“...No kidding,” he grumbled.

“...But I’m not going to give up after one bad date. We’re going to try harder next time. Alright?” The way she said it, with such conviction and the way she narrowed her eyes at him, as if to dare him to say otherwise… it was at that moment that Ladybug and Marinette merged together in his mind. 

He felt tension he’d been carrying for the entire car ride melt away. Despite everything, she wanted to go out again with him. He swallowed heavily and said, quiet and earnest, “My lady, if you still want me after all this, then I am more than willing to try as many times as it takes to get it right.”

Blushing, but not looking away, Marinette smiled as the car stopped. She leaned forward slowly and gave him a kiss on the cheek. As she began to take the jacket off, he shook his head and put it back on her shoulders. “I’ll get it when I pick you up for our next date. How does that sound?”

“It sounds wonderful.” She stepped out of the car. “Good night, kitty.”

“Good night, Mari.”


	14. Some People Call This Wisdom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marichat

“You know, some people call this wisdom,” Marinette said as she reached the top of the ladder to find Chat Noir curled up on himself in her bed. Despite all her warnings, he insisted on trying to eat the entire platter of croissants and, well… the results spoke for themselves. “Or at least, you’ll be wiser after this.”

“Shhh,” came the pained reply, “I’m healing over here, princess.”

“It might not be a lot of wisdom. This is hardly the first time you’ve done this and yet somehow you thought it would end any differently this time around.” 

“Marinette…” He whined.

“Then again," she continued mercilessly, “you did eat a whole two more croissants than last time. Maybe your body is finally adapting to you making the same mistakes over and over again.”

“Do you have to speak ill of the dead like this?”

“You aren’t _dead_ , chaton. Just kinda dumb.”

“Hey!” He rolled over to face her, pouting. 

She pushed his mop of hair out of his eyes. “Oh don't worry. You’re cute, so at least you have that going for you.”

“I’m smarter than you think I am.” He smirked at her smugly. 

“That so, Chat? How do you figure?”

“Well, I have a lovely princess waiting on me hand and foot so I must be doing something right.”

She scoffed. “If you’re flirting you must be feeling better. I’m going to get back to my designs.” As she started to climb back down the ladder, Chat Noir’s hand reached out for her. 

“Wait! Come back!” She stopped moving and raised her eyebrow at him, making him shuffle nervously. “It… hurts less when we’re talking.”

Sighing, she caught the worry that flashed across his features before she climbed back up and laid next to him in the bed. After he hadn’t moved for a few moments, she patted at her lap, which jolted him into action. Once his head was on her lap, she started idly running her fingers through his hair and scratching behind his black cat ears. A small smile found its way onto her face when she got was she was after - purring. For some reason, he found it embarrassing, but to Marinette it was just about the cutest thing about Chat Noir. Not that she’d tell him that. Knowing him, it would only make him even more embarrassed.

“So, kitty… what do you want to talk about?”

He tried to speak slowly, the better to keep his purring from affecting his voice, but failed miserably. “How’s… the new dress… going?”

“I’ve hit a wall with it. I’m not entirely sure how to make a certain part of it work. You see…”

The conversation drifted on until the very early hours of the morning, long after Chat’s stomach had settled and the pain abated. Of course at that point, both of them were very comfortable with their positions and, naturally, neither wanted to bother the other by moving. Their talk slowed and slowed as exhaustion set in before finally sleep took them, Marinette’s fingers buried in golden hair and Chat’s tail coiled around Marinette’s leg.


	15. I Thought You Had Forgotten

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ladynoir tenderness / silliness

Marinette sat on an inconspicuous rooftop looking out over Paris. Her Ladybug costume was augmented by a fluffy hoodie, warm gloves, a handmade red scarf, a matching hat, and winter boots. The suit was surprisingly effective at keeping the winter chill at bay, but she still didn’t like the cold. Besides, it was the dead of winter and the extra precautions were necessary. Today was the coldest Christmas they’d had in years, or so she was told. She usually didn’t really go anywhere on Christmas day, the exceptions being a couple years ago when Adrien had gone missing, and this year when she had promised to meet up with her pun-loving partner in heroism.

She frowned as she thought of her partner. He had been so excited about today ever since she broke down and agreed to meet with him. The thing that finally convinced her was remembering how despondent he usually was in the holiday season. If she could do something to lessen that sadness, then she would in a heartbeat. This might not be anything huge, but it certainly seemed to make him happier and he was back to his chipper self immediately. 

Which only served to make his tardiness now, on the day of their planned meeting, all the more worrying. 

Her hope was that family stuff had gotten in the way. It was difficult enough for her to get alone time today, after all, and she knew she wouldn’t be able to stay out much longer before her parents came to check on her. Maybe he was having problems getting away too?

Another ten minutes passed and she sighed in disappointment while reaching for her yo-yo. He couldn’t say that she hadn’t tried to make it work. 

“Wait!” A familiar voice called out to her and following closely behind was Chat Noir himself, landing heavily on the rooftop. “Wait, I’m here!”

She looked him up and down as he hunched over, out of breath. She was especially eyeing the big, gaudily wrapped present that he was clutching. It seemed worse for wear, the paper torn in places and crumpled slightly in the middle, where his arm was wrapped around it.

“I thought you had forgotten, chaton.”

“I would never leave a lady such as yourself waiting if it could be helped, bugaboo.” The playfulness of his tone warred with a tired look in his eyes that had nothing to do with physical exertion. He flashed her a too-wide grin. Immediately she was suspicious. 

“So,” she began, walking around Chat, trying to find some hint to his inner thoughts, “what kept the great Chat Noir so busy he had to keep his lady waiting?”

Her attempt at flattery had the intended effect of making him blush, and he rubbed the back of his neck nervously. “Nothing important.” 

Marinette did not like being lied to, much like her partner just did. It only made her more worried - Chat was one of the most open and carefree people she knew, especially with her. There were only a few times he’d clammed up like this and in each case it had turned out to be…

“Did you have another fight with your dad?”

The cheerful mask he’d been wearing fell off as he stared at the ground, eyes distant. “It doesn’t matter. We have the same fight every Christmas, I don’t know why I expected any different this year.” He shuffled to the edge of the roof to dangle his feet over the edge, clutching the present he’d brought her as if it were a giant teddy bear - which, knowing him, it might very well be. 

She frowned - this was a difficult topic to help him with. It was hard for her to even imagine having parents that you couldn’t rely on implicitly, let alone fighting with them so regularly. Besides, it was dangerous to talk about their personal lives like this. All it took was one look at the resigned sadness on her partner’s face for her to muster up the will to push that dutiful part of her mind to a distant corner and help him. 

“Do you want to talk about it?” She took a seat next to him.

“It… it’s been three years since my mom disappeared.” He continued on despite her gasp. “We still don’t know what happened to her. I… I don’t talk about her much. Some days are harder than others, but the holidays are especially bad. Father put up walls between us, and he finds every excuse he can to either sulk in his room or be too busy for celebrations. This time, he was telling me he was going to Milan for a business trip today and I… it made me angry. We got in a yelling match and, well, here I am.”

He turned to give her a half-smile. Doubtless, he would have tried to make a pun or crack a joke about it, do his best to play off this moment. She didn’t give him the opportunity, having launched herself forward to wrap her arms around his waist and hug him tightly. She hadn’t known. From what it sounded like, he didn’t have anyone to help him through this pain. He’d been all alone. 

“I’m so sorry, kitty.” She pulled back and cupped his face in her hands, looking steadily in his eyes. “For what it’s worth, I’m here for you. I promise I will always be here for you.”

His hands covered hers, and he rested his forehead against her. A smile - faint, but genuine - warmed his face. “I know, my lady.”

They sat like that for a little while longer, gaining comfort from each other’s quiet company, before curiosity began to mount. The present he had gotten her was still in his lap and she started to glance at it more and more.

Eventually, Chat noticed where she was staring and chuckled. “Oh right, I almost forgot why we were here in the first place.” He pushed the large present over to her. “For you, bugaboo. For all the cold nights when you want to cuddle up to your favorite partner, but can’t.”

Rolling her eyes at him playfully, she ripped open the paper and opened the box underneath to find a large black cat doll. It was easily large enough to be a pillow, which is no doubt exactly what Chat had intended it to be. She turned it over in her hands, only for it’s lime green button eyes to stare right back at her. Clearly, Chat intended it to be an analogy for himself.

“Aw, Chat, I love him already!” The real Chat smiled, which quickly vanished when she gave it a big kiss on its forehead and cuddled it tightly. His tail began to flick back and forth irritatedly. “I’ll call him _New Chat_. How does that sound?”

“Fine. Be that way.”

“Oh calm down, kitty. There is only one alley cat in my life.” No response. She sighed theatrically. “Oh well… I was going to give you the gift I had handmade for you, but if you are going to be like that, I can give it to New Chat…”

“No! Please, I’m fine now!”

Giggling, she stood up, New Chat taking her place as she reached behind a chimney to pull out a gift bag. The moment he was handed it, Chat carefully read the message she’d written on the tag before tearing through the green gift paper and pulling out… a warm black scarf. It wasn’t much, but Marinette knew how much he loved the things he made for her. Worry crept over her when he got an odd look in his eyes, feeling the fabric between his fingers absently.

“Do you… not like it?” She asked nervously.

“Hm…? Oh!” He finally seemed to return to the moment and wrapped the scarf around his neck. “Sorry, it just reminded me of something is all.”

Relieved, she leaned back and said, “Something good, I hope?”

“Someone pretty amazing, yeah.”


	16. This Is Gonna Be So Much Fun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrienette - A Frozer rewrite

With a great sigh, Marinette stepped into the ice rink studio, bag slung over her shoulder. Luka had dropped out of the double date at the last minute. Something about the music not feeling right. She didn’t understand a word of it, but he seemed pretty adamant that he couldn’t go with her today. Since it was so last minute, she didn’t have a chance to find anyone else to go out with her. 

Which meant she’d get to be the third wheel as she watched Adrien and Kagami hit it off. No doubt after this they’d make it official. Then Adrien would be too busy to hang out with them and he’d be gone from her life entirely. All without ever getting the chance for her to tell him how she feels. Eyes downcast, she reflected that she wished she had taken the opportunity to tell him how she felt before it had been too late. 

“Oh hey, Marinette!” Adrien waved to her from the benches. She sat down next to him, where he was attempting to put his ice skates on. “I… don’t suppose you know how to ice skate, do you?”

“Didn’t you say Kagami knows how to? Why don’t you ask her?” She winced internally - she hadn’t meant to sound so standoffish. 

Thankfully, he didn’t seem to notice. Instead, he rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. He seemed… nervous, weirdly. “Funny you should mention… Kagami had something come up, but I didn’t want you two to be disappointed if I canceled so… here I am!” Adrien looked past her and frowned. “Wait, where’s Luka?”

“He backed out too, actually. Guess that just leaves us.” She laughed nervously and fiddled with her shoe laces, not really trying to tie them. No doubt he was going to cancel if it was just the two of them… right?

“Oh!” Marinette was startled by his sudden excitement. “I think I got it.” She glanced over to see him with a very sloppily tied ice skate, which he quickly mirrored on the other side. He noticed her staring and let his eyes drop to her feet. He knelt in front of her and took up her laces in his hands.

“Um… A-are sure want skate to?” He looked up at her, confused, but smiling softly. Swallowing heavily, she said again, more slowly. “Are you sure you skate want to? If… if, uh, it’s just us…”

He turned his attention back to her laces. “Why would I want to cancel now?”

Continuing quietly, she said, “Well, this, this was supposed to be a date, right? But if the dates aren’t here, then, then, uh, w-what’s the point?”

Adrien finished tying her laces and looked back up at her from his spot on the ground. He unconsciously placed a hand on her knee to help himself stand and said, “We have each other, at least. You’re an awesome friend, Marinette. With you around, I know this is going to be so much fun!” His smile faded. “Unless… you don’t want to hang out without Luka around?”

“No no no! I love you. I mean! I love to be around you.” She put her hands over her face out of embarrassment. “Please don’t be creeped out.” She peered out from between her fingers to see Adrien looking shocked before settling back into a warm smile. 

“It’s alright, Marinette. If it makes you feel better, I love hanging out with you too.” And just like that, he made his way onto the ice, unaware of the pounding of her heart. 

Eventually, with some encouragement from Tikki, she remembered how to put one foot in front of the other again - _Yes! Progress!_ After a few minutes, she learned many things. She learned how much she didn’t like falling on her butt repeatedly on the ice. It quickly became learn how this was the first time Adrien had ever done something like this. Despite the pain and inexperience, they were laughing till they were red in the face - both at each other and at themselves.

The skating tutor came down after a particularly rough fall and lead Marinette by the hand over to Adrien. “Both of you are inexperienced - you’ve made this very clear to me. You two need to take it slow, and you need some kind of support.” He put Marinette’s hand in Adrien’s. “There! Now just stay around the edge and keep each other standing. You’ll get the hang of it soon enough. And, if you want to sign up for classes later…” He smiled as he departed. 

With Marinette being too busy internally combusting, Adrien took the lead and they started making their way around the rink.

“So… Marinette…” Adrien’s eyes were firmly fixed on what was directly ahead of him. He swallowed heavily and slowly asked, “You and Luka…?”

“Wha- Oh! No, we’re just friends, that’s all.”

“Oh. Cool!” His smile returned as he increased their pace, seeming more relaxed than he had been before.

“What about you and Kagami?”

“We… don’t do a lot outside fencing practice. She gave me some advice when I was feeling down, so I thought I’d take her out.” He rubbed the back of his neck again. “But yeah… we’re just friends too. To be honest, I’m not sure things would’ve worked out anyway.”

“So why did you ask her out?”

“I… I don’t know. She was there for me at a moment when I really needed someone to be, I guess.” He looked at her warmly. “Thanks for coming, by the way. I was really nervous - I’ve never been on a date before.” Laughing, he added, “I suppose I still haven’t. But it was really cool of you to help me like this. I appreciate it.”

“Mention it don’t! I mean, don’t mention it! I… I’m always h-happy to help a… a friend.”

“Really? Here I thought it was because you loved being around me.” He chuckled as she tried to sputter out a defense. “I’m just teasing, Marinette. And like I said, I love being around you too. Not a lot of people would be willing to provide moral support even after their date cancels.” 

Marinette failed to respond, since she was too busy freaking out over how close they were to having just said ‘I love you’ to each other. _Two words! Two less words and we’d be making out right now. Well, probably not, but still!_

The conversation drifted to safer shores and they slowly got the hang of ice skating. By that time, however, their time was up. After changing back into their normal shoes, they exited the building, Marinette watching as Adrien made his way towards the car that would be taking him home.

Mustering every bit of Ladybug confidence she could, she ran after him. “Hey, Adrien!”

He stopped unexpectedly and she bumped into him. While she was reeling, he reached out to steady her. “What do you need, Marinette?”

“Well, you see, I was just wondering…” The shyness began creeping up on her again. “If… you’d want to go skating at the ice rink more often?”

“Just… the two of us?” He tilted his head to the side, uncertain.

“Would that… be okay?” 

He smiled. “I think that would be more than okay.”


	17. I'll Tell You, But You Aren't Going to Like It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Post-reveal, post-relationship, aged up Adrienette

Barely restraining a yawn, Adrien Agreste, famous model moonlighting as a superhero, entered his shared apartment. He’d been out of town for a few days, being run ragged by his father - nothing new on that front, really. It had been the same story for his entire life, only now he was expected to travel outside Paris and be gone for longer stretches of time. But he was no longer the lonely kid without attachments. He had friends and a kwami who could sometimes be considered a friend and sometimes a nuisance. More importantly, he had a girlfriend waiting for him… somewhere in the apartment. Most of the lights were off, so maybe she wasn’t home.

That theory was immediately shot down when he set foot in their shared bedroom, lit only by a lamp on Marinette’s work table and all the drapes drawn shut. 

An important factor to note about their bedroom - it doubled as Marinette’s work room. According to her, she’d gotten used to having all her supplies on hand while she was living with her parents, and didn’t want to change it up too much. In Adrien’s experience, it also let her justify staying up much later since her bed was just over there, so she could _definitely_ go to bed soon, honest. Sometimes it took him physically picking her up and dragging her to bed to convince her to settle down for the night.

Adrien had not been in town for the past few days, leaving Marinette to go to bed at her discretion. Which, from appearances, meant that she hadn’t gone to bed at all.

Despite calling out to her a couple times already, she hadn’t noticed his presence, far too absorbed in the piece on the desk to pay attention to minor things like the world around her. The desk itself was a mess - not just in the creative sense, but also because of her being surrounded by a ring of empty bags of chips, sleeves of cookies now containing only crumbs, and abandoned cans of energy drinks. His lovely lady herself had seen better days. Her hair was tied up in a messy bun, giving him a clear view of her bloodshot eyes. Her own outfit of a tank top and yoga pants provided a stark contrast to the elegant dress she was working on so frantically. 

Approaching cautiously, he put a hand on her shoulder and she jumped at the contact. “Hey, bugaboo. How long have you been up?”

Some of the manic quality behind her eyes faded and she gave an uncertain smile. “I’ll tell you, but you aren’t going to like it…”

“Thirty eight hours. And counting!” Tikki chirped helpfully from her position on the headboard of the bed. Ignoring Marinette’s glare, she added, “Please talk some sense into her. She actually listens to you.”

“I _need_ to get this done, I can’t just- eeep!” Instead of arguing with her, he simply picked her up and moved her to bed.

After he set her down, he said, “Now, my lady, I’m going to get changed and then I’ll join you, okay?”

“I can’t, I need-” He silenced her by catching her lips with his mouth. 

“We both know staying up like this just makes you more likely to make mistakes which you then have to stay up late to fix. Besides,” he kissed her cheek, “I’ve been sleeping terribly without you and I’m exhausted. If not for your sake, then mine?”

She crossed her arms and huffed, but didn’t get up off the bed. After he had switched out into something more suitable for sleeping, he crawled into bed with her. Pulling her onto him, he ran his hand through her hair and out of it’s bun. She was already half-asleep and beginning to nod off. 

Sleep-deprived and only half in the waking world, she put an ear to his chest and mumbled distantly, “I love you, kitty.”

“I love you too, Mari.”


	18. You Should Have Seen It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marichat - Pre-reveal

“You should have seen it, Princess!” Chat Noir said as he entered her room from the balcony. “Not to brag or anything, but-” They both made a strangled screeching noise as Chat twisted in midair to avoid landing directly on top of her. While he did manage to avoid doing that, the extra shaking and bouncing from his landing did nothing for her headache and general pain.

_I must be quite the sight_ , Marinette thought as she took several long, deep breaths and put a hand over her forehead. She’d been sweating a lot from the fever, her tangled hair formed a messy halo on the pillow around her head, and she hadn’t changed out of the pajamas she went to bed in yesterday. Mustering all the energy she could, she lifted her head to check the time then promptly fell back onto her pillow. Fourteen hundred hours. No wonder Chat had expected her bed to be empty.

Speaking of, he gently pushed her hand off her forehead to replace it with his own. She sighed in relief since the material of his suit was cool.

She heard the concern in his voice as he quietly asked, “Princess, you’re burning up! How are you feeling?”

“Awful.” There was no point in trying to brush it off, or downplay it, and if she couldn’t tell Chat, her friend both in and out of the spots, who could she tell? “Figures. Got sick just after mom and papa left.”

“Left? They aren’t here to take care of you?”

Her attempt to shake her head ended in failure, so she croaked out, “No. Gone. Catering a wedding.”

“Someone needs to take care of you,” he muttered to himself. Addressing her now, he asked, “Are you hungry? Can you eat?”

Pouring all her Ladybug authority into her voice, she said, “Chat, you don’t need to-”

“I’m not letting you suffer alone, Marinette. I’ve got the day free - let me help you.” After a pause, he added timidly, “Please?”

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Tikki hidden from view. The kwami had been doing her best, but she couldn’t do much beyond keep her company and bring some things within Marinette’s reach. She let out a sigh that turned into a cough. 

“Okay, okay. You can help. Can you make me some soup, please?” 

“Of course! It will be the finest, freshest soup possible. Only the best for you, Princess.”

“Regular canned soup is fine, Chat.”

“Sorry, can’t hear you, too caught up envisioning a feast worthy of royalty.”

“Chaaaat…!” She groaned, but it was too late. He was already down the ladder and slipping out of her room.

Tikki emerged from hiding. “It’s pretty lucky that Chat Noir arrived! I can’t do much to help, after all. And your parents will be gone for the whole weekend.”

Running her thumb over Tikki’s head, Marinette said, “I appreciated the effort all the same.”

“He doesn’t usually come over after a battle, especially one where he used Cataclysm. Why do you think he came over?”

“He beat the akuma by himself. Of course he’d want to brag and since Ladybug hadn’t shown up...” She felt terrible about leaving Chat to fight alone, but even transforming hadn’t been able to help her do much more than stand. Even her stubborn tenacity wasn’t enough to get her out of her room, let alone fight an akuma. Thankfully, at least the miraculous cure worked when lying down. 

Tikki seemed about to say something, but her antennae twitched and she instead flitted away into a hiding spot. The trapdoor to her room opened, causing Marinette to frown in confusion. Unless her sense of time had been completely shot, that had been nowhere near enough time for Chat Noir to make soup, even from a can. He crested the ladder with one hand holding a glass of water.

“I thought you might want something to drink while waiting.” He passed her the glass and she drank from it as if it were heavenly ambrosia. While she was occupied, he rubbed the back of his neck and asked, “I don’t suppose your family has a cookbook lying around somewhere…?”

Giggling despite the pain, she said, “Cabinet above the sink. Page 27, please.” It was a recipe she’d done with her mom ever since she was little. Hopefully, it was easy enough for her goofy partner to pull off on his own. 

Nodding in thanks, he left the way he’d came. Tikki was only back out for a couple minutes before he had returned. 

“Sorry to bother you again, but I found some medicine while I was trying to find everything. I thought it might help.” He filled the tablespoon he’d brought with the foul smelling liquid medicine, which he then held in front of her. He must have expected her to take the spoon, but Marinette was too exhausted for such unnecessary work like holding things and simply leaned forward and put the spoon in her mouth. 

“R-right. Back to the soup.”

Once again, Marinette was alone in her room. Very, very briefly. She wondered if Chat Noir had even reached the bottom of the stairs before turning back around. It certainly hadn’t been enough time for her to get comfortable again after moving. Tikki didn’t even have time to get out of her hiding spot. 

“Do you want me to close the curtains? It might help with your headache and it’d be easier to sleep.” She made a noise that might, to some ears, be heard as a ‘yes.’ Thankfully, he seemed to get the message and her room was plunged into cool, soothing darkness. 

True to his word, the headache became less of an angry throbbing and more of an irritating pulsing. Much more tolerable. So tolerable, in fact, that she forgot the pain she was in and drifted in and out of sleep. What ultimately drew her out of tittering on the knife’s edge between dreaming and waking was a the scent of the soup wafting up from the kitchen, reminding her that she hadn’t eaten anything since yesterday afternoon. The stomach pain that had taken backseat to everything else was now back in full force. 

Light briefly banished the darkness as the door to her room opened once again, the scent of broth and cooked vegetables filling the room. She felt a weight settle on her bed before her lamp turned on. After blinking away the stars from the sudden change, she saw Chat seated cross-legged in front of her, a full bowl of soup placed in his lap. 

With a smile in his eyes if not on his face, he asked, “Can you eat this yourself, or do you need me to feed it to you?”

She sat up to the best of her ability as she shook her head. “No that’s alright. Let’s see how good your cooking is.” He passed the bowl to her and she brought a spoonful to her mouth. “Not bad, Chat.” She ate a few more spoonfuls. “So what brought you over today?”

His eyes lit up as he began regaling her with his solo battle against the akuma victim of the day. She nodded at the right times and did her best to look the part of an awed civilian, despite having followed the entire thing on the Ladyblog. By the time he was done talking, she was done eating. 

“Well… I guess I better head out. You’ll need to get some sleep if you’re going to get any better. I’ll stop by later to check on you, okay?” 

She smiled gratefully and laid back down as Chat turned off her lamp. Her bed shook ever so slightly as Chat pulled himself out of her skylight. She continued to smile as she fell into a deep sleep, already feeling much better.


	19. Oh Please, Like This Is The Worst I Have Done

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alya's profession as an intrepid report has gotten her in trouble once again with an exasperated Ladybug.

Alya snorted. “Oh please, like this is the worst thing I’ve done.” 

Ladybug made a sharp turn as a living rope lashed out at the spot that had just been in. Alya was dragged along for the ride, cradled in the superheroine’s arms as she leapt from rooftop to rooftop. She’d gotten used to heights from her infrequent outings as Rena Rouge, but she doubted she’d be given the fox miraculous today. Akuma attacks were standard fare, but Ladybug probably didn’t appreciate Alya going in to investigate personally. She may have picked up a proper reporting job after graduating, but that was no excuse to let the Ladyblog suffer. How was she supposed to know that the akuma victim was after her specifically? 

“I hoped that years of attacks by Hawkmoth would’ve taught you something.” Ladybug frowned at her as she set her down to open her yo-yo. No doubt, she was calling Chat Noir to formulate a plan of attack.

“I’ve learned plenty. Like how to avoid their attention, for example. It’s hardly my fault the akuma victim was after me.” Ladybug gave her a look. “Okay, so it _is_ my fault, but what was I supposed to do? Not publish the expose? No way. I have a duty to-”

Ladybug held up a finger to silence her as she began to speak into the communicator. “Where are you, Chat?” Alya couldn’t make out Chat’s reply as Ladybug listened intently, nodding along. “Can you meet me at the mayor’s hotel? I have who he’s after - it’s that reporter girl.” Pause. “Yeah, Alya, the nosy one.” Ladybug stuck out her tongue at Alya’s protest. “I can lure him over that way, but I’ll definitely need your help in bringing him down.” Another pause. “Okay, see you soon.” 

“So I’ve graduated to bait now?”

“Not if you don’t want to. I have a backup plan if you want to sit this one out.”

“No way! I’ll do what I can to help.” 

Ladybug nodded. “Hold onto me, okay?” Alya grabbed onto the spotted heroine, who wrapped her arm around Alya’s waist. Once she was secure, they were swinging through Paris once again.

“Anyway, this is far from the worst situation I’ve been in. Remember the Pharaoh, all those years ago? I was almost sacrificed to the _sun_ that time.”

“If I remember correctly, you were in that situation because your reporting instinct was stronger than your survival instinct.” Ladybug lifted her eyebrow at Alya. “You’re hardly helping your case.”

“Yeah, but all the mayor wants to do is catch me and make me take back what I said. He’s not going to kill me on sight.”

“Who knows if that’s all he’s going to do? Akuma victims aren’t in their right minds. You should know that, after all - you’ve _been_ akumatized!”

“Well yeah, but you always save the day in the end - me included! How can I back down out of a story when you two are out there putting yourselves in worse danger? How can i give up on a story when I know you’ll keep us all safe? I trust you to have my back, even in those _extremely few times_ that I get in over my head.”

Ladybug gaped at her. After a few minutes she recovered. “So you’re fine with being bait, then?”

“Duh, girl!”


	20. I Hope You Have A Speech Prepared

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Post-Reveal Adrienette

“I hope you have a speech prepared,” Marinette muttered as she straightened his tie. “There are people out in that crowd who are looking for any excuse to drag your name through the mud along with your father’s.”

Patting his chest pocket, he replied with a chuckle, “Don’t worry, lovebug. I had plenty of time during my sleepless nights to get some writing done. It was definitely a better use of my time than crying.”

She cupped his face and looked deep into his eyes, worry evident on her face. “I’m serious, Adrien. I’m worried about you. Ever since we caught him, you’ve been hiding behind Chat Noir, in the mask and out. You know I’m here for you, right?”

“I know,” he smiled sadly, wrapping his hands around hers. “Honestly, I don’t think I’d be able to go out there alone, and even then I’m barely keeping it together.” Kissing her hands as he moved them off his face, he added, “If you were to find an alley cat outside your window tonight, do you think you’d let him in? I’d bet he could use some companionship after all this.” He gestured out between the curtains to the crowd of reporters, bystanders, and the scattered protesters. 

Hawkmoth had overplayed his hand, tried to do too much at once. When he finally left his lair, they couldn’t pass up the opportunity to bring him to justice and pulled out all the stops. They even got local news networks to chase him with helicopters, which had ensured that the moment his identity was revealed, all of Paris knew it. It made sure that he could no longer terrorize Paris anonymously, of course, but it also meant that Adrien found out that his father was a supervillain at the same time everyone else did. 

That’s what made it all so much worse. Now he had to go out in front of the cameras and insist he knew nothing about it. But how could they believe him? It was his own father after all, who he’d lived with for his entire life. To Paris, he was either an idiot or covering up for his father. He couldn’t blame them - it was something that he’d been thinking about in his more vulnerable moments. Did his father hide it that well, or was he blind to the clues?

He was brought back into the present by Marinette squeezing his hand. “Hey,” she whispered, “I don’t blame you for anything. Everyone knows your father was a secretive recluse, it’s not that much of a stretch to say even you were kept in the dark. And whatever happens, I’m with you till the end. The bug and cat team, all the way.”

Laughing, he replied, “Don’t you mean the cat and bug team?”

Before she could reply - and he knew it would’ve been good if her faux angry face was anything to go by - he heard his name called over the speaker system. The levity evaporated immediately, leaving him with a sick feeling in his stomach.

“Go on. I’ll be right here, Adrien.” Leaning forward on her toes, she pressed a feather light kiss to his cheek. “Good luck!”

He strode out onto the stage with a confidence he did not feel and began his speech.


	21. Impressive, Truly

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien and Gabriel, cause honestly, who else could say something as pretentious as 'impressive, truly' unironically. This is also a continuation of Chapter 11 - And I Will Never Forget!

“...and then we made a dish that her family brought with them from China. It was slow going since I’ve only recently started learning how to cook, but it was absolutely delicious!”

“Is that so.” There was no trace of emotion in his father’s voice, itself a warning sign that Gabriel wasn’t pleased, but Adrien was too caught up in thinking about Marinette to notice.

“Yes!” Adrien patted at the corners of his mouth with a napkin before launching into the next part of his ramble. It used to be that his dinners with his father were completely silent and boring, but now he actually had things to talk about. Moving out and experiencing life had given him plenty of stories to relate. “Living on our own has been a big change and I don’t always know how to do domestic stuff like laundry and cleaning. She’s been super patient with me and teaching me how to do everything!”

His father pushed his food around on his plate, frowning. “Impressive, truly. My son is being taught how to do servant work. Very befitting of the Agreste name.”

Adrien blinked, surprised and a bit upset at his father’s outburst. Not that it was unexpected - his father had done his best to raise him in the lap of luxury and attended to by personal servants. “Am I not supposed to learn how to do things on my own? Just because I come from money doesn’t mean I should be helpless.”

“I know you like to think you are ‘roughing it’ out in the world, but you have the funds to at least hire a maid. Show some dignity.” 

The rant by his father continued, but Adrien simply rolled his eyes and continued to work at his dinner. _Just when he’d started to make some progress too…_ Come to think of it, his progress had started after Marinette had gone back inside the mansion to have a quick discussion with his father. Ever since then, he’d been at least a little warmer, but the relationship between Marinette and Gabriel had only worsened, even if neither of them had mentioned anything to him. Given his father’s current rant, Adrien could understand why Marinette had claimed she wouldn’t be able to make it because of too much work. To anyone else, that might have been a valid excuse, but he knew Marinette well enough that she didn’t _have_ a concept of too much work - at least, not until it was too late. 

“But then again, I suppose you don't need a maid if you have that... _girl_ running around that horrid little apartment.” Gabriel sneered. “Maybe she is good for something other than running her mouth." His father was cut off by the sound of Adrien’s fork falling out of his limp hand and clanging against his plate.

“...What did you just say?” His quiet, icy tone - a dire warning to those who knew him - went unnoticed by his father, who simply raised an eyebrow. 

“Is something wrong with your hearing, son?

“No, I’m giving you a chance to take back what the hell you just said.”

Gabriel steepled his fingers and glared at him. “You will not speak to your-”

“To my what? My father? What kind of father would say that about their son’s fiancee? What is wrong with you?!” He stood, glaring down at his father as he let his years of frustrating come to the forefront. “Marinette is the kindest, most creative person I’ve ever known.” His father’s lips curled downward at the implied slight against him. “She’s had to teach me how to live on my own because of _your_ failure as a parent! And despite all that, despite all my screw-ups and all the disappointments, she’s been there, patient and forgiving.”

“How dare you! I have done nothing but-”

“No! That’s the problem! _You’ve_ done nothing but cut my life up into schedules and routines. The only thing you’ve ever taught me was to be a model and do as I’m told. I couldn’t even take care of myself without help!” He put his hands on the table and took deep breaths. “I’ve tried to reach out to you - I really have. You can belittle me and my decisions all you like. God knows I’ve made plenty of mistakes.” He looked into his father’s eyes and matched the glare being leveled at him. “But Marinette? She is the one choice I _know_ I’ve made right.” He grabbed his jacket and opened the dining room door.

“Goodbye, father. Don’t bother showing up to the wedding.”


	22. I Know You Love To Play Games

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marichat goodness

Marinette angrily put aside her latest design, frustrated with the lack of progress she’d made over the last few hours. Hoping for some way to vent, she turned to the black clad hero lounging on her chaise. “So, Chat Noir. I know you love to play games…”

Chat Noir sat up and eyed her suspiciously. “Yes…”

“Would you like to play one?”

“This isn’t going to be like the time you said that and tried to have me chase lasers and string, is it?” He crossed his arms over his chest and glared at her.

“Oh come on! That was hilarious and you got into it after a little while.” When his glare refused to let up, she sighed and added, “Don’t worry, I wasn’t planning anything like that. I was just figuring since it’s late we could do a sleepover game?” 

Stroking his chin and grinning at her, he asked, “I dunno, princess. I’m _purr-tty_ sure that I can beat you in a pillow fight.”

She rolled her eyes. _Boys._ “You know there are more games than pillow fights? And pillow fights are kinda rare anyway, alley cat.”

“Well, what were you thinking of then?” He began twirling his tail, trying his best (and failing) to sound uninterested and cool. 

“How about Never Have I Ever?”

His ears twitched and a smirk found its way onto his face. “I’ve never heard of it, so I’d say I’m off to a good start.”

Her chair swiveled towards him and he obligingly sat up, facing her with his body. “Okay, kitty. So we hold up one hand,” suiting actions to words, she held up her left hand and wiggled her fingers, “and the person whose turn it is says something they’ve never done. If the others _have_ done whatever they just said, then they put a finger down. Once you’re out of fingers,” she clenched her hand into a fist, “you lose. Got it?” He nodded. “Okay, since you’re the guest you can start.” She opened her hand again and he mirrored the motion.

“Um…” Chat shuffled in place, grasping for an idea. His eyes fell on a platter now holding only crumbs and his ears perked up. “Oh! Never have I ever made a cake from scratch.” He seemed awfully proud when she rolled her eyes and lowered a finger.

“That was a bit obvious, don’t you think? I live in a bakery, after all.” 

Chat shrugged, his grin growing wider. “I think you’re just being a sore loser.”

Glaring at him, she said, “Never have I ever appeared on a civilian’s balcony and _begged_ to be fed.”

“Hey, I didn’t-”

Dropping her voice as low as it would go, she did a terrible impression of Chat’s voice, “Oh _please, purr-ncess_! This poor kitty is _starving_! Do you have _any_ food to spare?”

“Fine, fine.” Tail flicking in irritation, he slowly lowered a finger. The smirk returned. “Never have I ever worn earrings!”

“Ugh, really?” She lowered another finger. At this rate, they weren’t going to last very long. “This is supposed to be a game where you learn about each other, not state the obvious!” 

“Oh? Trying to figure out my identity, princess? Curiosity finally overwhelming you - who _is_ that _gorgeously handsome man_ , my knight in shining leather?”

Ignoring him, she used her free hand to tap at her chin. She glanced at her laptop, turned off for the moment. “Never have I ever binged an entire series in a single night.” She looked back at him, watched his face slowly drift from gloating to put-upon. Silently, he lowered a finger. “See,” she added with false enthusiasm, “I’m learning about you!”

“Ha ha,” he deadpanned. “Never have I ever been on a dinner date.” The smug expression returned only to break into confusion when her fingers stayed resolutely where they were.

“What?” She said defensively. “I’m just…waiting for the right person, you know?” Shrugging, she added,” Besides, it’s not like I get asked out a lot.” She seemed surprised when he snorted. “I’m not drowning in admirers over here, Chat.”

“I find that hard to believe, but I’ll accept the dinner date response at least. You win… for now.” He gestured to her. “Your turn.”

“Never have I ever dyed my roots.”

“Cold, princess. I’ll have you know I’m all natural.” She quirked an eyebrow as she met his stare and he made a dismissive gesture. “Ignore the eyes, that’s just the miraculous magic.”

“Back to you then, kitty.”

He rubbed the back of his neck. “Uh… Never have I ever stolen something.” Her stomach dropped and she groaned as she lowered a finger. Chat’s eyes widened. “What?! I just wanted this to go on longer! What’d you steal? Was it from me?” He leaned forward conspiratory. “Is Johnny Law still after you? I promise I won’t turn you in.”

Pushing him away while blushing she explained, “I stole a phone because I left an embarrassing message on it. And I gave it back after I was done, with him none the wiser. So no - no one is after me.” 

“Uh-huh. Well I’ve got my eye on you anyway, sticky fingers.” He made a tsk noise. “My own princess… a thief. Oh the drama!” He threw an arm over his face dramatically.

She rolled her eyes and stared off into space as she struggled to come up with another question. Yawning, she watched Chat’s tail flick back and forth. “I dunno. Never have I ever had a tail.”

Frowning he lowered a finger. With his voice a couple octaves higher, he did a terrible impression of her, “That was a bit obvious, don’t you think?”

“Oh hush. It’s getting late and I’m tired.”

“This game was _your_ idea and we aren’t even done with the first round!”

“Chat, there probably won’t be more rounds after this. I’m going to have to kick you out soon so I can get some sleep.”

“Well, _I_ know what will get you awake.” His smirk had returned and Marinette stared at him suspiciously in the silence. “Never have I ever… hung up twenty pictures of the same model in my bedroom.”

“CHAT!” She whisper-shouted, scandalized, making her displeasure known by smacking him on the arm while he cackled. The first time he’d seen the pictures he’d been dumbfounded, but he’d steadily gotten used to them over the months he’d been visiting. Rarely he’d tease her about them, being surprisingly thoughtful about ignoring their presence. Clearly, today was not one of those times. 

In the heat of the moment, she huffed and scrambled for anything embarrassing she could throw back in _his_ face. She struck upon a fitting memory and asked, “Never have I ever almost sneezed myself off a roof because of a bird allergy!” She smirked and waited for his finger to go down. When it didn’t she glared and reached over to put it down herself. She met with no resistance.

“Marinette…” Something in his voice made her look back at his face, which had lost all sense of tiredness or silliness. Instead, he was watching her intently, as if seeing something he hadn’t before. He stood up and started circling her.“What did you just say?”

Going back over her last dare, she struggled to find what had caused this shift in attitude. It had seemed like just another clear shot. The memory of Chat Noir nearly falling off a roof was very vivid in her mind. He’d just appeared out of nowhere, lounging on the roof, before sneezing and rolling to the edge. After he’d explained his allergy they went right into business-

Wait.

Right into the business of… fighting akuma. He had saod that as Chat Noir, to Ladybug. She had been Ladybug. Not Marinette. She had just said something only Ladybug could have known. And from Chat’s reaction, he had realized that too. 

“Now Chat…” She held up her hands as a shield. “Let’s not jump to conclusions.”

“ _You’re_ Ladybug!” He was pointing wildly at her, eyes lit up with excitement. He wore a dopey grin as he made his accusation. 

“Oh come on, that’s pushing it. There’s a perfectly valid explanation.” 

“Really?” His smugness returned as he sat back down in front of her, chin on his hands and peering at her intently. “Tell me then.”

Her eyes widened and she scratched at the back of her head. “Well, I, uh…” SHe caught sight of one of her Adrien posters. Which is simply another way of saying she looked at almost any patch of wall in her room. Inspiration struck. “If you must know, then I simply confused you with Adrien Agreste. One day we were in school and he nearly sneezed himself off the edge because of his allergy.”

He pointed a finger at her, grinning. “Liar! I never did that as Adrien!”

There was a silence in the room. Chat (Adrien) was paling at his own stupidity. Marinette (Ladybug) sagged against her chair, her soul having left her body in a mix between mortification, relief, and absolute joy.

Nervously laughing, Chat broke the silence. “I guess the, uh, cat’s outta the bag, my lady?”

That did it for her. The _puns_. The two halves came crashing together into one beautiful mess of a boy. “Of _course_ you would react by punning, you mangy cat!”

“Well, start as I mean to go on, right?” He slinked out of his chair to sit on the floor in front of Marinette, resting his arms on her lap and looking warming up at her. “Do you… well, would you like to…?”

“Are you… asking me on a date?” The thought was almost too much for her to believe, but the fact that it was Chat Noir that was asking gave her the confidence to respond in real words instead of gibberish.

“Only if you are going to say yes.” He chewed his lips, shifting worriedly. The only consolation to her inner strife is that he seemed to be suffering right along with her. “I mean, I understand if you don’t. In fact forget I-”

He didn’t get much further than that before she pulled up him by the collar and kissed him. Hopefully, even Mr. Oblivious himself could take _that_ hint.


	23. This Is Not New, It Only Feels Like It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrienette - Part 2 of Chapter 15

“This isn’t new, it only feels like it.”

Plagg’s words returned to Adrien as he stepped out of the car onto the steps of his school. Adrien isn’t ashamed to say he was a mess after realizing that he not only had discovered Ladybug’s true identity, but that he _knew_ the person under the mask. All the little hints that had accumulated over the years - all the weird coincidences, all the stories that didn’t quite line up, all the near misses all crystalized together into one sudden revelation. His kwami had been frustratingly calm, _bored_ even. But the more Adrien thought about what Plagg had said, the more it rang true. 

None of this was new information - not really. It was only obliviousness on his part that had made him fail to see all the connections. Once he was literally _handed_ proof unwittingly, it all came together. After a few days, he’d calmed down and he could take the opportunity to think about all of it. Of course Marinette was Ladybug. They were both awesome, creative, confident (usually), righteous, caring, beautiful ladies. Who else could have possibly been Ladybug than Marinette Dupain-Cheng, their everyday Ladybug? 

After making the realization that he had told Ladybug that she was their everyday Ladybug, he had wanted to smack himself in the head and laugh uncontrollably at the same time. 

The Gorilla drove away as Adrien stared at the ground, deep in thought. It was their first day back after the Christmas break and he felt that he was calm enough to talk to Marinette. But there was a problem: He had no idea how to go from here. Did he reveal his identity to her as civilians? He wasn’t sure how he could pull that off - she more often than not avoided being alone with him and when she was, could barely say a coherent sentence to him, which worried him. Did he wait until patrol? He had no idea how he was supposed to act normal around her now that he knew, and how would he explain any changed behavior? ‘Yeah, sorry, just found you are Ladybug and I’m really excited about that?’ Should he keep it to himself? Impossible. He felt like he’d explode if he didn’t get this off his chest sooner rather than later. Plagg, as usual, was completely unhelpful and just told him that it was ‘up to you’ on what he wanted to do. 

“G-good morning, Adrien!” 

He was yanked out of his own head by the very person he was ruminating over greeting him. When he looked up, shocked, she was watching him intently. Her entire body language was screaming at him that she was only barely avoiding running away. Despite her panic, she was holding her own admirably and had succeeded in not making a fool of herself.

Adrien, on the other hand…

“Good h-hello! I, uh, I mean, g-good morning to you! As well!” He rubbed the back of his neck as a blush spread across his face. This wasn’t going well at all. 

Her face was a mask of confusion, but before he could embarrass himself further the bell rang and they rushed to class. 

It was his hope that the start of class would offer him some respite, but instead he couldn’t focus on anything any of his teachers were saying. His thoughts were instead constantly occupied with the girl sitting just behind him, so close that he could just turn around and touch her if he wanted to. And there wasn’t much he wanted to do more, but he knew that would only get the both of them in trouble, and maybe even freak her out at the same time. No, he needed to approach this was tact and charm. 

“Hey, girl,” he overheard Alya say, “you want to go get lunch with me?” 

_This is it! This is my chance!_

Whipping around, Adrien plastered a smile on his face and asked, “Go me too?” He pinched his nose and said slowly, “Can I go too?”

The two girls blinked at him in startled confusion. Alya recovered first and grinned slyly. “Oh, shoot, girl! I forgot, I have a… thing!” She grabbed Marinette’s shoulder and pulled her close. “But hey, at least you’ll have Adrien for company~!” Before Marinette could form a reply, Alya had snagged an unsuspecting Nino by the elbow and hightailed it out of the building.

“I- Alya!” Her voice had a pleading edge as she called out to her friend’s back. Slowly, she turned to him, wide eyed and blushed when she realized he was staring at her. Realizing he might have just made himself look like a creep, he quickly looked away and felt his cheeks burn. So much for tact and charm. “So… uh, where do you, do you want to… eat?”

He hadn’t thought that far ahead. Considering what he wanted to talk to her about, they needed to go somewhere that they wouldn’t be overheard. “Somewhere… private.” As her blush began to spread over her entire face, he hastily added, “That came out weird! What I meant was-”

“We… we could eat at my house? Take some snacks up to my room… if you, um, wanted privacy?”

“Yes! That would work perfectly, thank you!” He fell into step with her as they walked out of the school. She guided them into her home through the bakery front, where her mother was at the cash register. 

“Hello, dear- Oh my! You didn’t tell me we would be expecting guests today!” 

“It was sort of a last minute thing, mom, sorry.” 

Sabine hurried up to greet Adrien. “Hello, sweetie. Eat your fill, both of you. Growing kids need plenty of food.” She turned back to Adrien and smiled. “Especially you dear. You look like skin and bones!” 

After getting far more food than he had bargained for on his plate, they slipped upstairs to her room. It was much like he remembered from the last time he was here, although it seemed that she had removed some of the posters of him since her room had gotten televised on accident. He felt a pang of sadness at that and couldn’t figure out why. She took a seat on her swivel chair, drawing her legs up onto it as she set her plate on her lap. Adrien sat opposite her on the chaise, looking around the room casually. Marinette was the first to break the silence.

“S-so, Adrien… why did y-you want somewhere pr-private?” There was a slight tremor to her hand as she brought a treat up to her mouth. 

Setting aside his plate for now, he took a deep breath and looked her in the eyes. “Marinette… I know your secret.”

Marinette gasped, scandalized. “Did Alya tell you?! Or was it Nino? Alya said she hadn’t told him, but he always went along with her plans…” 

“What?!” He shouted, only to cover his mouth and dart his eyes toward the floor. When he didn’t hear any approaching footsteps, he continued in a whisper shout, “Two people knew you were Ladybug before me?!”

She paled, then laughed nervously. “What? Me, Ladybug? Pft, that’s… silly.”

“Marinette…” He chided. 

Sighing, she clenched her jaw and stood up, taking a step toward Adrien. The expression on her face was more like what he was used to from his lady, all stoic confidence and determination. If there was any doubt in his mind previously, there wasn’t anymore.

“I don’t know how you find out, Adrien, but you have to promise me that you’ll tell _no one_. Not only for my sake but for yours. I don’t want you to get put in danger because of me.”

He smiled and shook his head. “Oh, I wouldn’t worry about that, bugaboo. I can take care of myself quite well.”

“Don’t call me buga-” Her eyes widened and she let out an adorable small gasp. “Chat…?” She whispered.

Nodding, he stood as well and leaned down to pull her into a hug, his arms linking together near her lower back. For a moment she was too shocked to reciprocate - whether because of the hug or the reveal, he couldn’t say - but she recovered and hugged him back tightly. 

“How…?”

“I found your name on the blue one. It wasn’t that hard to figure out from there. Besides,” he pulled back enough for her to see his face and winked, “there’s only one person I know who makes scarves that good.”

She smiled and leaned her head on his chest, chuckling. “I can’t believe you were right there the whole time…” He hummed in agreement, but then remembered what she said earlier.

“Hey, Marinette? If you weren’t talking about your Ladybug secret, then what did you think I was talking about earlier?”

Her head suddenly whipping back up missed his chin by mere centimeters. “Oh, uh, nothing! Ha ha ha…” He raised an eyebrow. “Just, uh… that I’m... “ she lowered her voice to a whisper as she stared at her feet, “inlovewithyou.”

“Oh. Well that makes me feel better about this next part then.”

She looked back up at him curiously, but he didn’t have a chance to appreciate her cute expression of confusion before he was leaning in for the kiss. After a moment of surprise, she melted into him. 

He wasn’t sure where they and their feelings stood in this mess of secret identities, but that was a problem for later. For now, he poured all his heart into this kiss and let everything else wash away.


	24. You Know This, You Know This to Be True

“You’re gonna be get your butt handed to you. You know this-” Marinette paused to reorient herself after the room spun on her. She was a few stiff drinks deep into the night and the festivities were dying down. Most of their friends had left and what was once an energetic party was now a subdued sleepover between the gang again. Nino and Alya were out cold, the last time Adrien checked in on them. “You know this to be true. And yet you’re still going to challenge me anyway?”

Adrien grinned. He was liking this sassy Marinette that had showed up after she’d had a few drinks. Normally, she was a nervous wreck around him, but now… she reminded him of someone, even if he couldn’t place who at the moment. His own confidence was through the roof, and not just because of the alcohol in his system. He’d spent loads of extra time practicing with the new Mecha Strike ever since it came out, probably way more than she’d had the opportunity to. If there was ever a time for him to beat his normally shy classmate (although there were only a few more days he could call her that before graduation), then it was now.

“I might not win-” She scoffed at him. “Hush. I might not win, but it’s not gonna be an easy victory for you, pigtails.” Adrien blinked at the nickname he had just given her. It had just sort of slipped out after all these years of Plagg calling her that, which he’d even started to call her during their infrequent meetings when he was behind the mask. She didn’t seem to notice, thankfully, instead plopping down on the couch and taking the control into her hands. 

The first round was fought almost to a standstill, even with neither of them performing at their best. In the end, Adrien’s training paid off and Marinette, reigning champion of Mecha Strike, had been defeated. Just as he started to lean back to revel in his victory, Marinette slammed on the rematch button, deadly focused as her competitive fire was ignited. Adrien scrambled to get his hands back on his controller before the match started in earnest.

This round didn’t go nearly as well as the first, partially because Adrien already had his victory. It didn’t help that Marinette was sticking out her tongue in concentration, a scene so adorable that Adrien kept sneaking glances over to her. He was well aware that Marinette was pretty - he was oblivious sometimes, but he wasn’t blind. After all these years of Ladybug rejecting his feelings as Chat Noir, his disappointment had shaken him free of his tunnel vision. He had started to realize that Ladybug wasn’t the only one that he had fallen for. 

His staring cost him the match - it hadn’t even been close. He continued to stare as she wiggled in place in a kind of victory dance. _How can one person be so cute?_ Her mouth quirked up in a smug, kissable smirk…

“Uh, Adrien? W-what are you doing?” 

Marinette’s question cut through the mist of tiredness and alcohol. He’d been leaning towards her and their faces were only separated by a hand’s breadth. 

Cheeks redding from more than just the wine, he drifted back to his side of the couch. “N-nothing, just-”

His sentence ended abruptly as Marinette leapt forward, colliding into him face first. Still shocked, Adrien didn’t react to the sloppy attempt at a kiss until her eyelids flew open and her face turned tomato red. He felt a twinge of disappointment as she scrambled back away from him. She seemed mortified at her own audacity. 

“S-Sorry,” she sputtered, “Th-that was weird, I shouldn’t have-”

Grabbing her wrist, he pulled her back to him and placed his other hand on her hip as he hauled her onto his lap. Shifting his hand from her hip to cradling the back of her head, he put his face within centimeters of hers. He took a moment to savor the awed way she was looking at him, the warmth of their breath in the narrow space between them, the way she was bunching the front of his shirt in her fists, before capturing her soft lips with his own. It was brief and chaste, just enough to begin to satisfy his sudden longing for her. He leaned his forehead against hers, almost lost in the sensation.

“So…” He began, “You want to make out?” She responded with action rather than words. 

A few hours later, Nino found them asleep, cuddled up together on the couch and bathed in the pale light of their forgotten game. Grinning, he turned off the television and draped a blanket over them. There would be time for congratulations and teasing in the morning.


	25. Go Forth and Do Not Stray

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang gets together for some Dungeons and Dragons.

“Go forward, do not stray!” Nino announced in a gradiouse voice, using the tone he’d adopted for the king of the land they were adventuring through. As he transitioned into a little expository speech, Marinette looked around at the other members of her party around the table. 

Glancing to her left, she noticed Adrien listening in rapt attention as Nino continued. No surprise there - Adrien had always wanted to play, had even purchased all the core rulebooks months ago, but this campaign was his first opportunity to play. Her eyes lingered on him for a little longer before touching on his notebook. She shook her head as she remembered how often he’d referred to it starting out. Almost the entire thing was just dedicated to his dwarf wizard’s complex backstory. While his excitement was cute, it also meant that sessions slowed to a crawl as he kept looking through it.

Across the table, his opposite sat with her attention divided between reading her phone and listening to the king’s speech. Again, not surprising. The only reason Alya was here in the first place is because she wanted to hang out with her friends and boyfriend. Nino had roped Adrien in and Adrien had done the same for her. After that, Alya just followed the rest of them. Knowing that she wasn’t the most invested, Nino just gave her the absolute basics - a human fighter to help round out the party. 

As Nino’s speech ended, Marinette leafed through the papers in front of her to double check if there was anything the party had forgotten to ask the king… or any secret objectives she needed to cover on behalf of her father, the elven duke. She was opposed to playing a sneaky type character - or at least she had been, at first. Then she managed to convince the other two to go along with a daring ambush that succeed with her rolling a natural twenty at _just_ the right moment, defeating the bandit chieftain and snatching victory from what Nino admitted was supposed to have been a clear cut defeat.

Reveling in her past glories, she missed the tail end of the conversation and when she tuned back in they were gathering supplies at the marketplace. 

“I’m going to roll to win our rations in an arm wrestling contest,” Adrien said, his eyes lighting up with mirth. Out of all of them, he got the most in character and did the most roleplaying. Sometimes it was good… most of the time, it was silly and pointless.

“Careful, dude. You’re going to waste your one good roll of the night. Again.” In some ways, Adrien was her opposite - whereas she rolled exceptionally well at critical moments, he only rolled well when it didn’t really matter. Usually, it just got them in more trouble in the villages they’d stop at. 

“N-nino’s got a point, Adrien.” If nothing else, this campaign had helped her get out of her shell around him. Even if she stuttered sometimes, she was at least making coherent sentences and not rambling. “Remember the barmaid from last week?”

_Marinette_ certainly would, since Alya all but forced Nino to have Marinette roleplay the barmaid Adrien had been trying to seduce in his own flailing, adorable way. Thankfully for him, his high roll did most of the hard work. It may have been through the veil of characters but Marinette still blushed when she thought about _Adrien_ flirting with _her_. 

Letting out an overly dramatic sigh, Adrien said, “Maybe you’re right…” The other two members of his party breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe this time he’d have some luck left over for combat. “...Or maybe you’re not!” Before they could say anything else, he let loose with his twenty sided die… which, of course, landed on twenty. Alya rolled her eyes as he smuggly penciled in his newly acquired rations for their next adventure.

Meanwhile, Marinette just watched him with a smile. The boy was too cute for his own good.


	26. But If You Cannot See It, Is It Really There?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Plagg + Adrien

Taking a huge bite of cheese, Plagg replied, “But if you can’t see it, is it really there?” 

It was a familiar argument. His father would do something… not great, his kwami would bemoan how awful he was, and Adrien would have to defend him. Even if, most of the time, Plagg was voicing fears and frustrations that Adrien himself felt about his father. 

“So what’s the other option, Plagg?” He glared at his oblivious kwami as he started working through another wedge of cheese. “Do you really think there just isn’t any good in there at all?”

“Kid, there might be, but if there is he is hiding it really well. So well that I’ve never seen it.” He held up a paw to cut off Adrien’s protest. “And before you go listing any small good deeds, think of this first - remove any of them that didn’t involve you begging and pleading for ages first, and where you weren’t clearly going to do something more extreme if he didn’t let up.”

He bit down on his lip, struggling to come up with anything that met those standards. That knocked out going to public school, the Christmas he let his friends come over, and the time they watched mom’s movie together. Each time, he had run away from home or snuck away from prying eyes to try to get his way. If Plagg was right, his father giving into those demands was simply a way to keep him in check, rather than show caring for him. Thinking of his mom’s movie reminded him of what started this whole debate anyway. 

The minutes passed as he stared into space, replaying the argument with his father in his head. It was the first Mother’s Day they’d gone without her. He’d fought so hard to make sure they’d be able to do _something_ together - it didn’t really matter what. But he just knew in his heart that she would have wanted them to be together as a family for Mother’s Day, where ever she was. His monitors darkened as the screensavers activated. Adrien left Plagg at the desk and laid down on his bed. Soon enough, the sounds of cheese being eaten stopped and Plagg floated in front of him.

“Do you think something really did come up, Plagg?” 

His kwami watched him with sad green eyes for several long heartbeats before sighing. “I don’t know, kid. Maybe something did. Something always seems to come up with that man.” He curled up on Adrien’s chest, where he began petting the tiny cat kwami. “But you’d think he’d find time for the things that really matter.”

“He _is_ a busy person… I guess it wasn’t really that import- Ow! Plagg, what the hell?!” Adrien recoiled from Plagg’s bite, quickly inspecting the digit. No blood, he noted with relief.

“Stop that!” Plagg growled, surprising Adrien. “Stop pretending like the things you want aren’t important just so your dad won’t get mad!”

“I’m sure father is upset too. Mom’s disappearance-”

“Affected _both_ of you, not just him. He can’t just- just _ignore_ you! It’s not right!”

The outburst put Adrien on the back foot - his kwami normally didn’t get angry like this. At least, not unless cheese was involved. 

“You don’t deserve to be all alone, Adrien.” He floated, tail flicking in agitation. 

“I’m not alone.” Smiling, Adrien scooped Plagg out of the air. “Not anymore.” Gently hugging his reluctant, squiriming kwami, he added, “Thanks for caring about me. I love you, Plagg.”

Ceasing his struggles, Plagg grumbled, “Yeah whatever, kid.” But Adrien knew what he really meant was ‘I love you too, kid.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah... I've had these last few finished for a couple weeks, they were just waited to be beta'ed. Since that wasn't an option I had been debating on when to post the remaining chapters, but I figure now is as good a time as any. Finally... Fictober can be put behind me...


	27. Remember, You Have to Remember!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien is in a paradise with Ladybug... or so it seems.

“Remember, you have to remember!” There was an urgency to his lady’s voice that wasn’t there when he twisted around in his beach chair to look at her. Instead of seeing the panic he would have expected from that pleading tone, she was smiling sanguinely. 

Confused, he asked her, “Remember what?”

“Hm…?” She stretched languidly in the sun and for a moment he didn’t think much of anything, his poor hormonal brain fried by her polka dot bikini. “Oh! Remember to wear sunscreen, silly kitty. You’ll get a burn from all this sunlight if you don’t.” She gave him a playful pinch on the arm, his body electrified by something as simple as skin to skin contact with her. Two years of only having contact in the suit, and now they could touch as easy as that.

“R-right,” he said and looked back to the beach. It took a few minutes of watching the waves hit the sand, but he settled back into the serenity he had felt before her outburst. He’d been working so hard lately, both in and out of the mask. This island retreat was exactly what he needed. Sun, fruits, and the lady of his dreams by his side. What more could he want? With the steady roar of the ocean and the gentle sea breeze ruffling his hair, he started to drift off into sleep. He closed his eyes and-

“ _Please_ Chat! You have to help me!”

He sat up, eyes wide as he looked back at Ladybug. Once again, there was no trace of the urgency he had just heard. Instead, she was playing with a- no, _their_ hamster, giggling as it’s whiskers brushed against her skin. 

“Help me, Chat! He’s tickling me!”

His muscles relaxed. There was no danger here. Just him, his hamster, and Ladybug. Watching them a while longer, Ladybug brought the hamster close to her face, pushing up her sunglasses. She took them off and his heart melted as he stared into her beautiful blue eyes. Just as he was about to lay back again, he realized something. Around those gorgeous eyes… was her mask. Black spots and all. Despite the fact that she was wearing a bikini, she was still wearing her mask. 

When had she transformed? He had the faintest memory of an akuma recently, but that couldn’t be right. They’d be on the island for at least a couple weeks. He turned back to her, and opened his mouth to ask a few of the questions that came to mind, when a realization hit him with the force of a slap to the face:

He didn’t know Ladybug’s name. 

Jumping to his feet, he started pacing, glancing around in a panic. There is no way they’d go this far out of their way, avoiding all their responsibilities in Paris, without so much as exchanging first names. No, his lady was far too dutiful for that. Something was _wrong_. Very, very wrong. 

“Plagg? Plagg?!” He shouted. Only the roar of the waves answered him as the sun was hidden behind dark clouds. Concern etched on her face, Ladybug looped her arm in his and started leading him to their cabin. 

“Come on, kitty, you need to calm down.”

He tore away from her and crouched down, growling. “Who are you?”

The pained expression she wore almost made him regret lashing out. She placed a hand on her heart and pouted, “I’m Ladybug, of course.”

“If you’re Ladybug, then who are you _really_? What’s your civilian name?” 

She had no answer. While he was watching her intently, he heard Ladybug again - but it didn’t come from the person in front of him.

“Chat, I need you! Please, come back!”

He felt a tug somewhere inside him, felt it pulling him somewhere else. It was risky - desperate, really. But deep in his soul, he felt that whoever was calling to him was the _real_ Ladybug. And she needed him. He let the pull carry him away.

\-------------------------------

Tears were welling in Marinette’s eyes as she shook her partner in heroics, cradled in her arms. The fight with the latest akuma - the Lotus Eater - had gone about as bad as it could and most of Paris was caught under her sway. The only good news is that it took her personal attention to raise the slumbering Parisians into mind controlled servants. It slowed her down and if she could keep Chat Noir hidden away from her, then he couldn’t be turned against her.

Like the others had.

The problem had been going out to fight her piecemeal. After Queen Bee was taken out, she brought in Carapace and Rena Rouge, but they fell right into Lotus Eater’s trap. She had only barely escaped, and even then only because Chat Noir had taken the hit for her. Now she was alone in a deathly quiet city as an army was slowly being raised against her, clutching her partner to her chest so hard that she could feel her knuckles whitening under her suit. She closed her eyes and began rocking back and forth, fighting the tears that she knew were coming.

A sleep deepened voice asked, “Ladybug?”

She looked down into those emerald green eyes and felt the relief flood her. If she hadn’t already been sitting on the ground, she knew her legs would’ve buckled underneath her. The tears started coming back, but at least now they were tears of relief.

Maybe her next action was because of how he was looking up at her like she was his entire world, or how he sleepily was blinking his eyes. Later on, she’d try to play it off as getting lost in the moment, carried on by the releasing of all the tension she’d built up in her panicked chase through the city. Regardless of her reasoning, Marinette - still holding him in her arms - pulled Chat Noir into a kiss.

The boy was very much awake after that. Even if he now wasn’t sure he had woken up at all.


	28. I Felt It. You Know What I Mean.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chat Noir pays Marinette a visit.

“I _felt_ it.” Chat Noir gave her a playful grin as he handed her a bolt of felt. “You know what I mean?”

Glaring at him, Marinette snatched the fabric from his hand. These nightly visits weren’t exactly anything new - he’d checked on her after an akuma had targeted her specifically, and it sort of built off of that. She didn’t mind really, but it made her curious. Was this something he did with a lot of civilians? Or did she catch his eye somehow?

It was weird, but he seldom came over more than once a week, if that. But everyday for the last few days he’d stopped in like clockwork. It was normally nice to see him while she wasn’t wearing the mask. Seeing him like this… it wasn’t quite that he was unguarded, just that he presented a different face to Marinette than he did Ladybug. One that wasn’t quite as focused on being suave and flirty. More playful, inquisitive. Which reminded her...

“Tell me again why you want these?” She knew the answer, but at least if he was talking then he wasn’t poking around her things or messing with her supplies. It was difficult enough cobbling together this gift, she couldn’t be his minder while she did so.

Playfully smirking, he replied, “Well, when I saw your plushies, I knew I just had to have them!”

“Yeah, but it’s not like I’m the only source of Ladybug and Chat Noir merch. I’m sure you have a Ladybug doll stashed away somewhere in your cat condo.”

“It’s an action figure-” He winced and put on a nonchalant expression. “I mean, no I don’t have any such thing. But!” He continued, over her attempted interruption, “even if I did, this is different. I don’t have a _Marinette exclusive first edition plushie_. Clearly, I need to get ahead of the growing demand.”

She rolled her eyes, but was touched by his faith in her abilities. “Do you really think people would buy them?”

He tilted his head in confusion. “Well, yes, clearly. _I’m_ buying them, and last I checked I am a people.”

“Woah woah, what? This is a gift, Chat. I’m not taking your money.”

“Then consider it an exchange of gifts where I was super cheap and only got you a gift card. Except instead of a gift card, it’s just money.” He pulled out a pair of twenty euro bills from his pocket. Her immediate reaction was blind anger at him having pockets when _her_ suit didn’t. Surprise soon engulfed the anger.

“Chat, no. I’m not accepting your money.” He pouted at her and she sighed. “Think of it as a thank you for being my first customer, okay?”

“First customer, hm? So you’re planning on making more of these then?”

She stopped working for a moment to wring her hands nervously. “...Do you really think they’d sell? I mean, I probably won’t charge what you were offering to pay for them, but…”

“They’re good, Mari! Don’t sell yourself short.” At the look she gave him, he added, “I might have gone overboard, but it was only by a little bit. Seriously, if you make more of these, I’m certain they’ll sell.” He rested his head on his arms as he sat on the chaise. “Think about it.”

Pleased with his encouragement, she put the remaining last touches on the pair of plushies. “I think I will. Here, your first editions are done.”

Taking the dolls gingerly, he smiled as he looked them over. “They’re perfect. Thank you!” He moved to leave.

“Wait, Chat!” He turned around and she hurriedly gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Thanks for believing in me. I’ll let you know how it goes. See you soon?”

Eyes wide and cheeks blushing, he replied, “Y-yeah. See you to-tomorrow.”


	29. At Least It Can't Get Any Worse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sleepover with the Girl Squad. What could go wrong?

“At least it can’t get any worse,” Marinette sighed as her turn came up. It had been an... interesting game of truth or dare so far. Her sleepovers tended to be fairly small affairs. Usually just a guest or two, almost always Alya. But this time... 

“Oh, I wouldn’t say that, pigtails.” Alix watched her with an evil grin on her face and Marinette felt fear despite the fact that she wasn’t the one about to give her dare. 

...This time the entire girl squad was here. The same team that she’d made it to their last year of school with. A pang of sadness went through her as she considered that this was probably one of the last times they’d get to hang out like this. 

Marinette felt fear even though Alix wasn’t the one about to give her the dare. Which honestly was for the best, given her impact on the game thus far. Alix had turned the game from Truth or Dare to just Dare and her orders have all been extraordinarily embarrassing. She set the bar fairly high for dares and everybody had been struggling to one up each other. There was an out, of course, a way to avoid the dare, but each person only has so many articles of clothing on before they don’t have any left to protect them.

“Alright, Rose, it’s your turn to spin.” Alya was talking, but Marinette was thinking back to the dares she’d already been forced into.

Even the tamest of them had caused problems. Sure, screaming ‘penis’ might not seem that bad on paper, but then there are the fears about accidentally waking up parents, or even if neighbors overheard her. How can she possibly explain without sounding immature or insane? ‘Well what was I going to do papa - not accept the dare?!’ Yeah no. Thankfully, no one had come knocking on her door.

She watched the bottle (itself a relic from their movie binge) spin as she remembered the dare after that. They’d really caught her in a pickle with that one. She was going to lose an article of clothing either way, but she figured that if everything went well, then removing her bra without taking off her shirt wouldn’t cause any problems down the road. She was already out of tertiary clothes, so now she was down to her pajamas and shirt. A very breezy shirt, she had come to realize. 

“Marinette! Okay, Rose, what is your dare for our brave, brave host?”

Her cheeks reddened when she spared a glance for the forgotten box of condoms. She had (truthfully) told her friends that her parents had gotten them when she first started showing an interest in boys (or, rather, ‘boy’), but they insisted on wild speculation, like if she had gotten them thinking that she’d get with Adrien any day now and get right into… business. Not far from the box was the dare associated with it - her failed attempt at a condom balloon animal. Her nose wrinkled at the memory. Embarrassing, but not the worst event of the night. 

The sweet blonde girl tapped at her chin, deep in thought. Marinette sighed in relief. Rose was innocent and didn’t have a malevolent bone in her body. After whatever tame dare she gave, Marinette would be safe for a few rounds more. Maybe by then, they’d be done with this game.

Rose’s eyes landed on a spot of the wall and lit up. “Marinette, I dare you to call Adrien and confess your feelings for him!”

Marinette screeched. “What?! No - I’ll make ten, _twenty_ condom balloon animals, just please-”

“The rules are the rules,” Mylene said. She added under her breath, “No matter how much we wish they weren’t.”

An arm wrapped around her shoulder and she was pulled closer to Alya. “Sorry, girl, but hey! This has been a long time coming and you’re running out of time to make your move. You don’t want Adrien to slip away, right?”

“No… but-”

Alix made a slashing motion with her arm. “No buts, although you’re getting close to showing yours.”

That was true. She couldn’t afford to lose any more clothes. Besides… maybe Alya was right? Maybe she should take this opportunity to confess her feelings before it was too late. Better to know for sure one way or another if her and Adrien were possible before he vanished from her life forever. 

Just as she mustered her courage, a phone - _her_ phone, she belatedly realized - was tossed at her and she juggled it in an attempt to catch it. It was ringing. They’d already dialed his number while she was busy psyching herself up. She was just about to glare at them, or maybe berate them, but then… he answered.

“Hello? Marinette?” His voice was deep from exhaustion and he didn’t sound more than a hand’s breadth from sleep and _boy_ was it hot in here. Had they woken him up? She winced after glancing at the clock. One in the morning. Sure, it was the weekend, but knowing Adrien’s schedule…

“Uh, hi! Adrien! Marinette! That’s uh, that’s me. Marinette? Class we go to together. Your classmate?” There was a chorus of heads shaking and facepalming around the room.

Thankfully, he just chuckled. “Hey, Mari. You don’t usually call me this late at night.” There was a pause and she could faintly hear him yawning. “Or at all, come to think of it. Something wrong? Do you need to talk?”

“N-no, no, nothing’s wrong, I just, uh, I needed to tell you something.” Her friends gestured for her to continue, but she clammed up, absolutely terrified.

“Are you okay? You sound scared.” Even through the fog of terror, she was touched by the genuine concern in his voice. 

“Y-yes, I’m fine.” She bite her lower lip, lowering her voice to a whisper, she added. “I am scared though.”

“Really?” He sounded surprised, as if she never showed fear and was the very face of bravery. Even after all these years of running from him in panic every time she tried to strike up a conversation with him. “Talk me through it.” 

“I… I can’t! I’m too scared.”

“Then we don’t have to just yet, okay?” There was a shuffling on the other side of the line, presumably as he sat up in bed. “I’ll be here as long as you need me.”

She took a few deep breaths. It wasn’t fair of her to wake him up and keep him waiting like this - she realized that. But his calm patience was doing wonders for her nerves. Maybe that’s why she never gave up on this crush. No matter how many times she’d embarrassed herself in front of him, he never thought less of her and never made fun of her for it. It was something she was endlessly grateful for. 

“Okay… I, I think I’m r-ready.” She looked around the room for support. Rose was bouncing with excitement, barely held in check by a smiling Juleka. Alix gave her a thumbs up and a half grin and right beside her, Mylene was watching with wide eyes and half buried in her blanket. Alya gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. “Do… do you want to go out with me?”

There was a long pause where all Marinette could hear was the pounding of her own heart. The seconds dragged on and tension was thick in the room as they all waited on Adrien’s reply.

“Like… on a date...?” 

“YES!” She blurted out. “I mean, yes. A date. With me. Please?”

Another long pause. “Sure.” The tension exploded into just barely silent commotion and cheering. “Nineteen hundred tomor-” He interrupted himself. “Er, later today, work for you?”

“Yes…?” She was only just barely able to respond, fairly certain she was having an out-of-body experience right now.

“Awesome! I’ll swing by around then. Wear your best and I’ll wear mine. Anything else you wanted to talk about?”

“Uh… no, I uh, I think I’m good.” Her body responded automatically, high functions shutting down from the sheer wall of joy and happiness that had landed on her. Years of build-up tumbling down on top of her.

“Cool! See you then.” He yawned again. “Get some sleep, alright? Night.”

“Night…” She muttered as they hung up.

Silence.

Alya grinned from ear to ear. “Well, I guess our game is over since Marinette needs her beauty sleep for her date.”


	30. Do We Really Have to Do This Again?

Marinette pulled out her phone to check the time and swore under her breath. It was late - far too late for her liking. All she wanted to do was get home to her apartment and sprawl out on her couch. If she ducked into the alley, she could shave a few minutes off her walk and get there just a bit quicker. 

Halfway through the narrow alley, she not so much heard or saw but rather felt someone watching her. Keeping an outward calm, she continued walking - if there is someone lurking around, best not to show that she knew they were there. All the while, she was nonchalantly checking the shadows while gripping her keys in her fist. 

All the tension in her body evaporated when she saw a pair of cat ears duck outside view, quickly replaced by exasperation and, to her annoyance, relief. 

“Do we really have to do this again, chaton?”

Called out, the feline hero reluctantly parted from the shadows, rubbing the back of his neck with an awkward smile. “Now, I know what you’re going to say…”

“If it’s ‘what the hell are you doing, you mangy cat’ then congratulations. Twenty points to Hufflepuff.” She crossed her arms over her chest. 

He toed the ground and mumbled, “Hufflepuffs are good finders…” Bolder, he added, “And you were taking your time coming back home. I got worried.”

Pinching the bridge of her nose, she admitted he had a point - this time, at least. She was pretty late because of all the extra work at the internship today. But all the other times recently? Always checking up ‘just because’, the many times she’d spotted a pair of ears or a tail along the rooftops as she’d made her way home, the way he’d insist on doing things for her… there was ‘considerate’ and then there was being coddled and she did not appreciate the latter. 

His tail flicked back and forth in agitation and he was staring at the ground. Her eyes softened, even if she was still upset. Closing the distance between them, she cupped his face and directed his gaze towards her.

“Adrien. It’s sweet that you care, really it is. But I’m not defenseless. I’ve got just as much hero experience as you.” 

He looked away again. “I know but… Bug, I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“Trust me, I’m not going anywhere.” She gave him a kiss on the cheek. “But you can’t protect me from everything all the time. You know that, right? And people will start to notice if Chat Noir and Marinette Dupain-Cheng are getting friendly. We still have a duty to the city, even if we kinda blew it for keeping our identities hidden from each other.”

A smile flickered to life on his face as he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close. “And yet, I can’t bring myself to regret that mistake.” He leaned in for a kiss...

...Only for her to push his face back by pressing his nose. “Finish up your patrol, kitty,” She said chidingly. “I’ll see you in the apartment in ten minutes? We can watch some movies before bed.”

Kissing her hand, he replied, “Wouldn’t miss it for the world.”


	31. I've Waited So Long For This

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien and Marinette go to the movies.

“I’ve waited so long for this!” Adrien was practically vibrating with excitement as they waited in line for the movie.

“Yeah…” Marinette replied dreamily as she stared at him, “Me too.”

Adrien looked back at her with a confused, but pleased smile that made her heart flutter. “I didn’t realize you were a fan too. If I’d known, I would’ve talked to you more about it! Nino’s great and all, but he doesn’t watch it, so any conversation I’d have with him about it would be completely one sided. You know?”

“Um, y-yeah. Definitely.” 

While she wasn’t completely in the dark about this movie franchise, she also wasn’t prepared for his adorably enthusiastic gushing about it. While he was trying to be considerate by involving her in the conversation, she didn’t know enough to keep up the discussion. Even completely lost as she was, at least it was cute to watch him get animated as he talked about something he loved. It almost came as a relief when they reached the tickets stand, Adrien’s attention shifting to pay for their seats.

Her heart didn’t get to enjoy the brief respite since immediately after he had the tickets in hand, his other hand reached for hers.

“C’mon, Marinette! We still have time, let’s get some snacks for the movie!” They reached the concession booth and in his excitement for food, he completely forgot to let go of her. Not that she was going to remind him. “What do you want?”

“Shouldn’t I pay? You already got our tickets. I don’t want to-”

He smiled down softly at her. “It’s no problem at all, trust me. Get whatever you want.” He gave an over exaggerated wink as he whispered to not be overheard by the people around them, “Modelling pays pretty well after all.”

Normally, she’d put her foot down on this, but between him being so enthusiastic about it and him being _Adrien_ she found it hard to muster up that kind of will power, especially since she was too busy being a puddle of goo since he was still holding onto her hand. After she ordered a few snacks, Adrien got them _far_ too much for popcorn and drinks, and they headed in to find their seats. It was still fairly early, so there was only a few other people in the theater. Even so, most of the good seats had been bought in advance and they were stuck towards the back. He didn’t seem to mind, though.

Adrien watched her struggle to find places to set down their snacks. “Sorry about that. I guess I went a little overboard.”

“Wha- Oh! You’re perfect. I mean! It’s fine. This is fine. Everything is a-okay!” She buried her face in her hands and groaned. He smiled indulgently as she only barely stopped herself from babbling.

A long moment of silence passed, one in which Marinette was angrily berating herself for not being better composed. They were only going to a movie. Together. And then going to a restaurant. Together. She sighed. Saving Paris was easy compared to this. 

“It sucks Alya and Nino had to cancel at the last minute. I hope they’re both okay - whatever they had sounded pretty serious.” Marinette only barely resisted rolling her eyes, perfectly aware that Alya was the picture of health. No doubt this was another plot that Marinette had not signed up for. 

“Listen… Marinette?” There was something strangely earnest and vulnerable in his voice that stilled her thoughts and drew her attention back to him. “I know you aren’t super comfortable around me, but I really hope you’ll have fun today. I can get pretty excitable sometimes and I realize that can get annoying, so just let me know if I get to be a little much and I’ll tone it down, alright?”

“Adrien, who told you that you get annoying?” It was hard to imagine anyone seeing this bubbly boy as anything but precious, let alone get irritated by it. 

“Well, father snaps at me when I bring these kinds of things up and everyone else just sorta tends to ignore me when I do, so…”

She reached out and gripped his shoulder. “You are _not_ annoying, Adrien. Sure, this stuff isn’t exactly what I’m interested in, but I love you and your passion for it no offense or anything but I don’t normally see you get this fired up for much although maybe that’s because we don’t hang out a lot outside of school and I uh…” She realized that she had started rambling again and finished lamely, “I’m, uh, I’m just happy to see you happy.”

Glancing over at him, he had a wide eyed expression and his mouth was agape. Before she could go back over what she said to find out what had that effect on him, he said, “You… love me?”

“Um...” Admit it and risk everything, or lie and retreat to safer ground? Panicking, she defaulted to instinct. “...Yes. I _may_ have had a crush on you since you gave me your umbrella.” 

“I… wow. I didn’t think you of all people would.”

“...What do you mean by that?” She was suspicious, slightly uncertain about where this conversation was going. 

“You’re Marinette! Class representative, Ultimate Mecha Strike III champion, an excellent baker, our everyday Ladybug! The beautiful, amazing Marinette Dupain-Cheng!” His energy left him and he slumped against his seat. “I’m just… me. Most of my worth comes from my last name. I’m just so… lame compared to you.”

Surprise evaporated in the face of blazing anger. She did _not_ spend the last year obsessing over this boy for him to call himself lame. “Now you listen here…” He shrunk from her as she got on her knees in her seat to lean over him in an angry whisper - she was pissed, but not inconsiderate of the people still filing into the theater. “You are the _kindest_ , the _sweetest_ boy that I have ever met! That’s why it took until the umbrella for me to fall for you - I’d shown you nothing but disdain and you still kept reaching out to be my friend. It was in that moment I realized I wanted to be much more than friends-” She covered her own mouth and fell back. “Can you… maybe forget that I said that last part?”

Grinning, he grabbed on her hands and kissed the back of it, looking in locking eyes with his emerald stare all the while. “Not a chance.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It... it is done. Six months late, but finally, Fictober has been finished. No longer must I toil under its long shadow! 
> 
> *ahem* Anyway! I hope you liked it, despite the long and stuttering production time!


End file.
